Real Madrid News
Real Madrid ‘like’ in-form Serie A winger, following him closely – report
Real Madrid are very clear about their plan to sign Jude Bellingham. The Borussia Dortmund starlet is the plan A, B and C in their bid to reinforce their ranks in the midfield department ahead of next season.
However, should the Spanish giants fail in their effort to sign Bellingham, they have an alternative plan in mind, which is to sign a new attacker. This is because coach Carlo Ancelotti has stressed the importance of a new forward.
According to Cadena SER, Real Madrid have already identified an option in the form of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The club are keeping close tabs on the Napoli starlet and are expected to pounce if the Bellingham deal goes south.
With 11 goals and 14 assists in all competitions this season, Kvaratskhelia has been one of the top performers in Europe. His blazing performances in Serie A have helped Napoli lead the title race by quite some margin, with the Partenopei currently holding a sizable 15-point lead over second-placed Inter Milan.
Karim Benzema has done extremely well in recent seasons, even winning the Ballon d’Or. He will be handed a renewal as well, but amid growing concerns over his fitness, Real Madrid have stepped up their quest to sign a forward.
That is where Kvaratskhelia comes into the fray. The young Georgian international is equipped with the qualities to flourish in the Real Madrid frontline and make it more potent, especially with question marks lingering over the futures of Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio.
Not to mention, Kvaratskhelia is considered a huge Real Madrid fan, which should only help the club’s pursuit. However, it must be noted that Napoli are not willing to give up on their prized attacker that easily, with reports suggesting a figure of around €100 million.
In what could be a real deal breaker for Real Madrid ahead of their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg clash against Barcelona, it has been revealed that as many as three Barça will be absent from the game while another key player remains a major doubt.
The list includes the likes of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen. The trio is certain to miss the game through respective injuries while a certain Frenkie de Jong is more or less ruled out, as per Javi Miguel.
It must be remembered that Barcelona are heading into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage. But the absence of the aforementioned players means Madrid can work on exploiting the frailties.
Despite the absence of such big names, Barcelona did pretty well against Elche in their previous outing, coming out 4-0 victorious, with the goals coming from Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
With options lacking in midfield, Xavi decided to use the likes of Sergi Roberto and Eric Garcia along with Gavi in the heart of the lineup. In any way, they do have Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie as backups if needed.
The defence, on the other hand, was perfectly guarded by Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde.
One can expect Xavi to once again interchange Araujo with Kounde on the right since the Uruguayan has been rather successful in minimizing the threat of Vinicius Jr.
As far as Madrid are concerned, they are sweating over the fitness of three key defenders, namely, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy. Between these three, the Frenchman is out for about a month while Rudiger and Nacho are expected to be back before the Clasico.
If there are no casualties against Real Valladolid, Madrid will have a perfect midfield and attack, with only Mariano Diaz missing.
