Real Madrid News
Real Madrid-linked La Liga prodigy ‘dreams’ of Arsenal; Liverpool, Man City also keen
Gabri Veiga of Celta Vigo is one of the breakout stars of the 2022/23 La Liga campaign, having caught the attention with stellar performances from midfield.
The 20-year-old has netted eight goals and set up three more from 24 La Liga appearances for the Galician outfit, forcing some of the top clubs in Spain and outside to sit up and take notice.
Real Madrid are one of the clubs interested in signing Veiga, who has a release clause worth €40 million embedded in his contract with Celta. However, Los Blancos will face competition from neighbours Atletico Madrid, who are also keen on the young Spaniard.
But, according to Manu Sainz of AS, the Celta Vigo midfielder ‘dreams’ of playing for Arsenal.
Veiga is also attracting significant interest from clubs in England, with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United understood to be keeping tabs on him. Serie A champions AC Milan are also said to be his admirers.
Indeed, the journalist suggests that the Gunners are the 20-year-old’s favourite club outside of Spain and he harbours ambitions of turning out for them in his career.
If true, this could come as a setback for Real Madrid and their hopes to sign Veiga. Recent reports suggested that Los Blancos were keen on adding the young midfielder to their ranks, irrespective of their pursuit of Jude Bellingham.
However, they were unwilling to match the 20-year-old’s €40 million release clause amount. Instead, the idea was to offer €25 million plus a player, Rafa Marin, as part of the operation.
But with Veiga dreaming of playing for Arsenal and the Gunners understood to be interested in signing him, Real Madrid might end up missing out on the young sensation.
It is astounding that despite being the biggest club in Spain, Real Madrid do not have many Spanish players to show for it.
Los Blancos do indeed boast of a special diversity in the dressing room, but their lack of locally trained players could pose problems according to MARCA.
The Spanish outlet confirms that UEFA does not mandate the inclusion of any minimum number of locally grown players for a club. However, the Spanish federation stipulates that a club in Spain must boast of at least eight players who meet a specific set of conditions.
Of the aforementioned eight candidates, there must be at least four players who have spent three seasons or 36 months at the club between the ages of 15 and 21.
Currently, only Nacho Fernandez, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, Federico Valverde, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Mariano make up the required number on that front.
The problem, however, arises with the condition for the other four players in the list of eight. RFEF stipulates that the second set of four players must have completed at least 36 months in teams attached to the federation of Spain between the ages of 15 and 21.
Only Jesus Vallejo, Alvaro Odriozola, Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos tick the aforementioned box. However, all four players have uncertain futures at the club and are well-placed to depart in the summer.
There are thus big decisions to be taken over the transfer strategy for June. Real Madrid can work ways to ship all four players out, it would require the re-integration of players like Sergio Arribas, Miguel Gutierrez or Fran Garcia to ensure the fulfilment of the criteria.
With both Vallejo and Odriozola seemingly frozen out of Ancelotti’s plans, their departures from Santiago Bernabeu appear inevitable. Thus, the management could be forced to renew one of Asensio or Ceballos come June.
