Real Madrid News
Real Madrid forward prioritising stay at club, but no progress in contract talks
According to Fabrizio Romano via Caught Offside, Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio has been in talks with Real Madrid over a new contract for a while now. However, there has not been much progress on that front as of yet.
As such, the Spanish international would be open to a switch to the Premier League or any other big league, although he would prefer to remain at Madrid.
Asensio’s contract situation has been a subject of discussion since the summer. With Los Blancos unwilling to meet his lofty demands, talks over a new deal fell through and the winger was tipped to leave the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, the former Mallorca winger ended up staying. And even though he was starved of game-time early in the season, he managed to turn things around and gain some prominence in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans.
This led to rumours that Real Madrid will offer him a new contract but one without a substantial increase in wages. As things stand, however, there has been no movement with regard to Asensio’s renewal.
“Marco Asensio and Real Madrid have been in conversations for a long time over a new deal. At the moment, no final progress yet – we will see in the next months how it will continue,” says Romano.
In the final six months of his contract, the winger can negotiate with clubs of his desire over a free transfer switch in the summer.
“Asensio would be open to Premier League or any other big league experience one day, but the priority now is still for Real Madrid talks,” the transfer expert adds.
So far this term, Asensio has played 18 times in all competitions for Real Madrid, racking up a tally of three goals and three assists apiece.
With Eden Hazard likely to leave in the summer, losing Asensio as well could deprive Los Blancos of depth in the attacking unit. At 26, the Spaniard is in his prime years and can be a valuable player if he renews and continue at the Bernabeu.
According to a recent report from Fabrizio Romano (h/t Madrid Xtra), there is nothing concrete at the moment between Harry Kane and Real Madrid. The two parties have not held any talks and a potential transfer is distant.
Los Blancos’ admiration of the English striker is not a novel development for the Spanish giants have been monitoring his situation for a couple of seasons now.
Tottenham’s high financial demands coupled with Karim Benzema’s breathtaking form kept Kane’s pursuit out of sight, but the situation has now changed.
Real Madrid’s French striker may be the current Ballon d’Or holder but he has struggled to recreate his form this season. His subpar performances and age force the club to look for a new face and Kane is unsurprisingly back in the mix.
The England captain has a contract with Spurs that runs until 2024 and he has not agreed on a new deal with the Premier League side. His dire drought for trophies at the club level could force him to move to greener pastures and there is a long line of suitors awaiting his availability.
Manchester United and Bayern Munich both, like Real Madrid, are in need of a new centre-forward and thus join the Merengues in Kane’s pursuit.
The 29-year-old striker has started 28 Premier League games for Antonio Conte’s side this season, scoring a whopping 21 goals and providing two assists in the process. The fact that his goal tally came off a relatively low xG of 15.6 shows Kane’s effectiveness in front of the goal.
Karim Benzema is likely to renew for another season, but the summer could see the Galacticos go all out for a big-name striker. Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are some of the other names considered, though it is clear that neither of them would arrive cheap.
