Real Madrid News
Real Madrid priority target was ‘firm’ on his transfer choice from day 1 – report
According to journalist Ramon Alvarez de Mon, Jude Bellingham’s decision to join Real Madrid was pretty much confirmed at all times, meaning that despite having the financial muscle, Manchester City were never really in the race.
In Bellingham’s mind, the midfielder does not want to miss out on the opportunity to represent the record European champions. Dortmund, for their part, did make a last-ditch attempt to make him stay, but as it seems, the 19-year-old has decided to join Madrid after all.
In Bellingham’s transfer, while his father, Mark Bellingham, played his due part, Ramon Alvarez claims that Madrid’s chief architect, Juni Calafat was the protagonist of the story.
Calafat, Madrid’s low-profile and influential chief scout, has been key to several deals in the past, including that of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Eder Militao and also Endrick. Over the course of his Real Madrid tenure, the 50-year-old has closed deals with several top young talents and Bellingham is the latest success in his resume.
He might lack the glaring presence of someone like Monchi or Mateu Alemany, but Calafat has his own ways of dealing with transfers. First, he builds up a relationship with the players and their families and once that is done, he makes personal visits to meet with the talents.
Meanwhile, Bellingham’s signing with Real Madrid is close to completion as it is said that the midfielder already accepted all the details of his new contract ten days ago.
At present, Madrid are said to be respectful about Dortmund’s title charge this season, but even the team from Germany knows that the Los Blancos will want to wrap up the deal this month.
There will be a meeting between the two parties this month regarding the details of the transfer. While they have already established contacts regarding the same, the official date is yet to be discussed.
Real Madrid News
Harry Kane ‘very close’ to completing Real Madrid move, only final details remain – report
Jude Bellingham’s move to Real Madrid was finally closed earlier today as officially confirmed by Borussia Dortmund on their website. Yet, the offices at Santiago Bernabeu have not even taken a break to celebrate their success.
According to reports from Alfredo Pedullà, Los Blancos are now completely focused on the acquisition of Harry Kane. The English striker’s arrival is very close to approaching closure and only a few details remain to be sorted.
The Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur representatives reportedly held a meeting today over the striker’s transfer. The agenda was to agree on a number for the transfer fee.
The Premier League side began the proceedings with an expectation of €100 to €110 million in exchange for Kane. However, the Merengues suggested a lower point at €80 to €90 million, albeit with the option to include bonuses.
There is not much separating the two parties at the moment, and the minor gap will be bridged in the coming days. Overall, the meeting ended with a broad understanding between the two clubs.
Carlo Ancelotti sees the English striker as the centre-piece of his attack for next season given the recent departure of Karim Benzema. After all, Kane has been one of football’s most consistent goalscorers over the past decade.
Yet, Los Blancos cannot afford to let their guard down with one signing and will need to rope in at least two more names in attack to serve as backup options. The exits of Mariano Diaz, Marco Asensio, and Eden Hazard leave them with no squad depth, after all.
Kane has scored 30, 17, and 23 goals in his last three seasons in the Premier League and is the epitome of consistency. Further, he had three assists in his most recent league season and created 14 big chances.
