Real Madrid plotting raid on Atletico academy for 16-year-old defensive prodigy

Only five points separate Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the La Liga standings. With eight games left to be played, the two teams are in a tussle to finish second. While the two clubs battle it out on the field week after week, they are at all-out war against one another off it as well.

Earlier this season, the Madrid-based clubs threw away the respectful boundaries they had set amidst them to regulate transfers and secure their academies.

The so-called ‘non-aggression pact’ prohibited either team from signing the other’s academy prospects but Real Madrid had other ideas when they brought in Jesus Fortea last summer from Atletico.

Now, according to reports from AS, the men in white have identified their next target. Real Madrid see 16-year-old centre-back Ariel Nkoghe as their next target from La Academia.

The 16-year-old defender is one is Atletico Madrid’s best young prospects. His dynamic profile enables him to play as both a centre-back and a left-back although the former is his primary position. Further, he has also made five appearances with the Spanish national team at the U-16 level.

Last week, it was reported that Real Madrid had completed the signing of two more young stars from La Academia and that they had three others on their radar. Nkoghe appears to be one on the aforementioned list.

The divide between the two Madrid-based sides is now spreading to unbridgeable heights and it remains to be seen as to how the situation evolves. Atletico Madrid are said to be eyeing players from the Fabrica to get even.