Real Madrid News
Real Madrid forward emerges as a leading target for Arbeloa at Fulham
Fulham’s newly-appointed head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has made Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Garcia his primary transfer target as he begins reshaping the squad at Craven Cottage.
According to Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports, the Premier League club have identified the 22-year-old striker as a leading priority to fill the attacking vacancy left by the high-profile departure of Raul Jimenez.
Arbeloa looking towards Real Madrid for reinforcements
Arbeloa, who was officially announced as Fulham’s new manager on Tuesday night following the exit of Marco Silva, has immediately looked to his former club to reinforce the frontline.
The connection between Gonzalo and Arbeloa is quite strong. Not only do they share the same representative agency, but the striker also enjoyed an increase in prominence at the Santiago Bernabeu after Arbeloa stepped in to succeed Xabi Alonso as Real Madrid manager.
Garcia has built up valuable top-flight experience in Spain, racking up 35 La Liga appearances since making his senior competitive debut for Real Madrid back in 2023.
The Spanish centre-forward found the back of the net six times last season, showing his clinical nature and sharp movement in and around the box – qualities that Arbeloa believes can help him seamlessly adapt to the demands of Premier League football.
Gonzalo might not be the only target
As per the report, Fulham’s recruitment department has mapped out a busy summer window, with the board prioritising immediate additions at centre-forward, on the wings, and across the central midfield.
Insiders close to the London outfit understand that Arbeloa is keen to expand his raid on the Spanish capital club, with the manager actively pushing to bring more than just one Real Madrid academy graduate across to Craven Cottage.
As already reported today, the Spanish tactician is also exploring the idea of bringing in Franco Mastantuono on loan.
However, Jose Mourinho, who has succeeded Arbeloa at the Santiago Bernabeu, intends to see both Gonzalo and Mastantuono in action in pre-season before deciding on whether to retain them or let them leave.
For now, though, Gonzalo has emerged as a leading target for Arbeloa at his new club, and it remains to be seen if a move goes through.
Real Madrid are back in action tomorrow in La Liga as they take on Elche at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero on Matchday 6.
The Merengues go into the game on the back of a solid 4-1 win over Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu and will be eager to build on that, especially with the Madrid derby coming up later in the week.
Ahead of the trip to Elche, Jose Mourinho has announced the squad list of players that will be at his disposal for the game tomorrow night.
There are no new returns to the squad as Real Madrid continue to be without Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, and Rodrygo Goes for the game.
Mourinho could look to make changes to his starting lineup, keeping an eye on the derby at the weekend, which could potentially open the doors for someone like Aurelien Tchouameni to start, having been eased back into the thick of things after return from injury.
There could be some rotations in defence as well, with the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Trent Alexander-Arnold hoping to get some action on the pitch.
It remains to be seen if Yan Diomande starts another game after featuring from the get-go against Rayo at the weekend, especially considering that Arda Guler has been a key player for Mourinho’s team.
Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., and Jude Bellingham have started all matches so far and it will be interesting to see if one or all of them are given a break with an eye on the derby.
📋✅ ¡Nuestros convocados!
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 14, 2026
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