Real Madrid News
Real Madrid defensive prodigy signs first professional contract with the club
Real Madrid starlet Jesus Fortea has signed his first professional contract with the club, Mario Cortegana of The Athletic has revealed.
Fortea signed for Real Madrid last year, arriving from the youth academy of local rivals Atletico Madrid. It marked a significant moment as the deal saw Los Blancos break the verbal non-aggression pact between the two clubs over not signing players from one another.
The two clubs had respected the verbal pact for 15 years until Real Madrid decided to sign Fortea in the summer of 2022.
The teenager snubbed interest from clubs in England and Germany to join the Merengues and has been tipped for a bright future from those within the club.
Indeed, even though he only turned 16, Fortea has already established himself as a regular for Real Madrid’s Juvenil B (Under-18) setup.
In fact, the young right-back has also made his debut for the club’s Juvenil A (Under-19) team managed by former defender Alvaro Arbeloa.
Given the potential and progression he has shown, Real Madrid have been quick to tie Fortea down to a new contract, his first professional deal, after he turned 16 years old on March 26.
It is claimed that the youngster has signed a three-year contract on the same terms as those he agreed to when he joined Real Madrid last summer.
Capable of playing in advanced position on the right flank as well, Fortea has also been a regular for the Spanish national youth teams.
However, he was recently excluded from Spain’s U-17 team by head coach Julen Guerrero over disciplinary reasons, along with Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Atletico Madrid’s Daniel Munoz.
But, Real Madrid are understood to have had no issues with Fortea’s behaviour, with Cortegana adding that the club are very happy to have tied him down to a new contract.
Real Madrid News
Harry Kane ‘very close’ to completing Real Madrid move, only final details remain – report
Jude Bellingham’s move to Real Madrid was finally closed earlier today as officially confirmed by Borussia Dortmund on their website. Yet, the offices at Santiago Bernabeu have not even taken a break to celebrate their success.
According to reports from Alfredo Pedullà, Los Blancos are now completely focused on the acquisition of Harry Kane. The English striker’s arrival is very close to approaching closure and only a few details remain to be sorted.
The Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur representatives reportedly held a meeting today over the striker’s transfer. The agenda was to agree on a number for the transfer fee.
The Premier League side began the proceedings with an expectation of €100 to €110 million in exchange for Kane. However, the Merengues suggested a lower point at €80 to €90 million, albeit with the option to include bonuses.
There is not much separating the two parties at the moment, and the minor gap will be bridged in the coming days. Overall, the meeting ended with a broad understanding between the two clubs.
Carlo Ancelotti sees the English striker as the centre-piece of his attack for next season given the recent departure of Karim Benzema. After all, Kane has been one of football’s most consistent goalscorers over the past decade.
Yet, Los Blancos cannot afford to let their guard down with one signing and will need to rope in at least two more names in attack to serve as backup options. The exits of Mariano Diaz, Marco Asensio, and Eden Hazard leave them with no squad depth, after all.
Kane has scored 30, 17, and 23 goals in his last three seasons in the Premier League and is the epitome of consistency. Further, he had three assists in his most recent league season and created 14 big chances.
