Real Madrid News
Real Madrid interested in €60 million-rated Tottenham defender
Real Madrid are looking for defensive reinforcements in the summer amid question marks over the continuity of captain Nacho Fernandez.
Leny Yoro of Lille has been the top target, with the teenager’s contract with the French club expiring in a year.
However, Lille’s transfer demands are making the possibility of a transfer difficult, which has seemingly prompted Los Blancos to look for alternatives.
Cristian Romero on the radars
Now, ESPN Argentina reports that Real Madrid are interested in Tottenham Hotspur defender and vice-captain Cristian Romero heading into the summer.
In fact, it is even claimed that the reigning champions of Spain and Europe have already asked about the 25-year-old World Cup winner.
Romero has been with Tottenham since 2021, having initially arrived on loan from Atalanta before the move was made permanent a year later.
The 25-year-old has been a regular fixture in the lineup for the Lilywhites and was even made vice-captain last season by manager Ange Postecoglou.
The centre-half was also a part of the Argentina squad that won the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
Romero’s contract with Tottenham runs until the summer of 2027. Considering how important he is to the team and the duration of his contract, Spurs will demand a hefty sum for him if Real Madrid do make an approach.
Given the Merengues’ reluctance to splash big bucks especially with funds being set aside for Alphonso Davies as well, any move for Romero this summer appears extremely unlikely.
Real Madrid’s adventure so far under new coach Jose Mourinho has been far from perfect and this fact shouldn’t be lost even after the team’s brilliant comeback win over AS Roma in midweek.
However, there are areas where Los Blancos have shown a clear improvement under Mourinho, when compared to previous bosses such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
One of those areas has been set plays, with Real Madrid appearing far more potent from set pieces this season.
A clear improvement from last season
As reported by Diario AS, the three goals in Rome, all from Arda Guler corners inside a seven-minute blitz, were the perfect advert for the work being done at Valdebebas.
Those strikes took Real Madrid’s set-piece tally to seven goals in just ten matches this season. Four of them have come in La Liga, one from a corner and three from free kicks, with the trio in Rome completing the haul.
It is a striking figure when set against last season’s return. Under Alonso and Arbeloa, Madrid managed 12 set-piece goals across the entire campaign, all in La Liga, split evenly between six from corners and six from free kicks.
On current trends, this side looks well placed to surpass that number comfortably.
The reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement
Attacking set pieces are led at Valdebebas by Pedro Machado, with the whole coaching staff involved and Mourinho himself giving the final green light on every routine.
Defending them, meanwhile, falls to Sami Khedira, though it is treated as a collective effort. Mourinho’s appreciation of that teamwork was clear when Bellingham headed in a Guler free kick against Espanyol, prompting the manager to leap up and embrace his assistants.
Machado, one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants, has followed him from Fenerbahce to Benfica and now Madrid, part of a backroom team blending experience with young, ambitious talent.
On the pitch, Guler is the undisputed master when available, his left foot the key weapon, with Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold and even Diomande also trusted to initiate attacks.
Such meticulous strategy has helped Real Madrid turn into a potent side from set-pieces this season.
