Real Madrid News
Real Madrid have placed an inquiry for 20-year-old Chelsea forward – report
Karim Benzema was one of Real Madrid’s biggest difference makers last season, stepping up time and time again to pull his team out of the waters.
The French international is now 34 years old, however, and cannot carry the forward line on his shoulders for long. It is not surprising that Los Blancos are beginning to get serious in their pursuit of a young striker.
According to reports from Nizaar Kinsella of Standard Sport, Real Madrid have contacted Chelsea over a potential transfer for Armando Broja.
The Spanish club are looking to offload several forwards and hope to add young strikers to their squad for the coming season. Broja is seen as an ideal option given his promising record on loan at Southhampton last year.
The 20-year-old participated in 32 league games for the English side last season and scored six goals. In addition, he scored two goals in the EFL Cup and a goal in the FA Cup.
At the moment, Carlo Ancelotti has Mariano Diaz and Borja Mayoral at his disposal as options to replace Benzema. However, the former does not have the required level to play for Real Madrid and the latter is expected to join Getafe very soon.
Everton, Newcastle and West Ham have all been linked with a move for the youngster, but it is unsurprisingly Real Madrid that catches the eye. Yet, it is Broja’s relative inexperience at the top-flight that makes his potential signing a risk.
As it stands, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel expects the player to stay. Nevertheless, one could expect the situation to turn around dramatically once Los Blancos officially step into the race.
Real Madrid were hit with a speed bump after their perfect start to the season, with Real Betis offering an important reality check to Jose Mourinho’s team.
After three wins from three to start the season, Madrid ran into a resolute Betis side at the Villamarin in a game where the ball simply refused to go in for them.
On the one occasion that it did, Carlos Espi’s sensational overhead strike was ruled out for a marginal offside.
Los Blancos lost the game 1-0 to the Andalusian side, but one of the few positives from the game was the continued good form of Arda Guler.
Even with the team struggling around him, the Turkey midfielder once again showed why he believes this could be the year he takes a major step forward under Jose Mourinho.
Guler making his opportunities count
According to AS, Guler remains convinced that working with Mourinho can accelerate his development and help him reach another level competitively.
His confidence comes at a time when his performances are making an increasingly strong argument for greater responsibility.
The numbers from the Betis defeat underline the kind of game the Turkey international had, despite the result not going his way.
Guler created seven chances, more than any other Madrid player, while also recovering five balls, the second-highest total among the team’s outfield players.
That made Mourinho’s decision to substitute him midway through the second half particularly perplexing.
The coach’s concern was Guler’s yellow card and the possibility of Madrid going down to 10 men. However, this is not the first time the 21-year-old has been removed despite playing well.
Against Espanyol, he was also substituted after around an hour despite assisting Jude Bellingham and being one of Madrid’s strongest performers.
Mourinho has a difficult decision
Guler remains Mourinho’s starting option in the right-wing role, but Yan Diomande’s presence creates obvious competition after Madrid invested €125 million plus bonuses to sign the Ivorian.
The encouraging part is that Guler appears determined to respond through performances rather than worry about the competition.
He is taking his chances and, at times, playing at a creative tempo his team-mates are struggling to match. That should strengthen his position rather than weaken it.
Guler believes Mourinho can help him develop and make a significant competitive leap this season. So far, there is reason to share that confidence.
The next stage is about turning impressive stretches into sustained influence over complete matches.
Guler’s on-pitch relationship with Mbappe is probably the best two-man relationship in the team at the moment.
So far, the Turk has done nothing wrong to make Mourinho consider dropping him, and it remains to be seen how many more minutes he gets with Diomande’s threat looming large.
