Real Madrid News
Real Madrid defender considering leaving the club in the summer
A recent report from Sergio Gomez has offered a cold reality check for Real Madrid, suggesting that the Spanish champions are in danger of losing one of their prized assets in the form of Nacho Fernandez.
For the first time in his life, the Spanish defender is contemplating leaving his club of dreams, in favour of a move elsewhere. This is because his current deal at the Santiago Bernabeu expires at the end of the season the club have not come to him with a new proposal just yet.
With just eight starts in La Liga this season, it is no secret that Nacho has fallen down the pecking order at Real Madrid, with Carlo Ancelotti often preferring the likes of David Alaba, Eder Militao, and Antonio Rudiger.
Nacho, in fact, has been thinking about his future for a while now and it appears the boiling point has been reached. This could ultimately lead to his exit in the coming summer.
Real Madrid are aware of Nacho’s dissatisfaction. The report suggests the coaching staff and the team rate Nacho quite highly due to his experience, leadership and versatility. But the veteran’s contract issue is not a matter that keeps the club’s executives ‘up late night’.
Recent reports suggest the 33-year-old will make a definitive decision on his future by April. This should greatly help Real Madrid prepare for his exit and find a proper replacement in the market.
The Spanish giants have been notably linked with a move for Portuguese defender Antonio Silva, who is young and can become a long-term option for the club – just like Eder Militao.
However, it would perhaps be a prudent move from Real Madrid’s perspective to keep hold of Nacho for another season.
The Spaniard’s experience and leadership, coupled with his ability to play anywhere in defence could prove to be useful for the coming season, especially given the way the current defensive options have struggled with injuries this term.
In what could be a real deal breaker for Real Madrid ahead of their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg clash against Barcelona, it has been revealed that as many as three Barça will be absent from the game while another key player remains a major doubt.
The list includes the likes of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen. The trio is certain to miss the game through respective injuries while a certain Frenkie de Jong is more or less ruled out, as per Javi Miguel.
It must be remembered that Barcelona are heading into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage. But the absence of the aforementioned players means Madrid can work on exploiting the frailties.
Despite the absence of such big names, Barcelona did pretty well against Elche in their previous outing, coming out 4-0 victorious, with the goals coming from Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
With options lacking in midfield, Xavi decided to use the likes of Sergi Roberto and Eric Garcia along with Gavi in the heart of the lineup. In any way, they do have Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie as backups if needed.
The defence, on the other hand, was perfectly guarded by Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde.
One can expect Xavi to once again interchange Araujo with Kounde on the right since the Uruguayan has been rather successful in minimizing the threat of Vinicius Jr.
As far as Madrid are concerned, they are sweating over the fitness of three key defenders, namely, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy. Between these three, the Frenchman is out for about a month while Rudiger and Nacho are expected to be back before the Clasico.
If there are no casualties against Real Valladolid, Madrid will have a perfect midfield and attack, with only Mariano Diaz missing.
