Real Madrid News
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico closely monitoring 16-year-old Spanish prodigy
Despite a relatively strong start to the new season, Real Madrid are facing a potential crisis ahead of a crucial December period.
The club have lost both Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga through injuries during the international break while several other stars are already sidelined.
This has led many to believe that Real Madrid might reconsider their options as we approach the January transfer window.
While it is unclear if there will be any moves made to reinforce the first team, Los Blancos continue to track the market for the next up and coming young talents.
Real Madrid keeping tabs on Victor Fernandez
According to a recent report from Jorge Picon, one of the players Real Madrid are targeting is Victor, the son of legendary Real Valladolid striker Victor Fernandez.
Aged just 16, Victor has earned plaudits for his performances at the youth level. He currently represents the Real Valladolid youth side but made his debut for the reserve during the preseason.
An attacking midfielder by trade, Victor has been courted highly by Alvaro Arbeloa, the former right-back who is currently the coach of the Real Madrid U19 squad.
Arbeloa has seen Victor live on multiple occasions and wants to sign the youngster as soon as possible.
A favourable situation at Valladolid
Being 16 years old, Victor is eligible to sign a new contract at Real Valladolid. The club are keen on extending the youngster’s contract but the new deal has not come as of yet.
Until the new contract comes, Victor is free to sign for whichever team he desires, which creates an excellent market opportunity for Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants, though, are not alone in the race to sign the young forward. Along with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are keeping close tabs on the teenage sensation.
It must also be noted that Victor has a close relationship with Real Valladolid, especially with his father playing a key role in dictating the team’s youth development and methodology.
So it remains to be seen whether or not Victor takes the next step in his career just yet.
Real Madrid’s main goal heading into the summer transfer window was to wrap up the signing of Jude Bellingham amid massive interest from Premier League giants such as Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola’s City, especially, were ready to match and increase any salary Madrid offered, and were going strongly into the bidding war.
Eventually, Bellingham decided to join Madrid after they reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for €3 million.
However, following this, los blancos had to improvise a fair bit as Karim Benzema decided to leave the club to join Al-Ittihad on a free transfer. They were expecting him to continue for another season, at least, and it stumped their plans in the market.
In the next few weeks, Madrid chased forwards, and ended up signing Joselu, Brahim Diaz, and a certain Arda Guler, who was close to Barcelona before eventually ending up at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Unfortunately for Madrid, he is yet to play a single minute for the club after picking up a serious injury in pre-season. Despite being on the bench for a couple of games, Guler suffered a relapse in training, and was sidelined again.
Now, reports from Yagiz Sabuncuoglu say that the Turkish international is close to returning to team training.
Guler has slowly, but surely, been recovering from his injury, and could take to the pitch for his first minutes with the club in the next few weeks as Madrid look for solutions after a month full of injuries.
With Vinicius Jr, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eder Militao, and Thibaut Courtois all out until early 2024, Madrid have relied on Castilla for reinforcements, but could do with Guler’s services in their forward line.
That said, Carlo Ancelotti and co. are expected to be extremely cautious when it comes to the Turkish international. The slightest spell of poor man-management here could make or break the youngster’s career.
