Real Madrid News
Real Madrid prospect set to join Sevilla in €3 million deal for 50% rights
According to AS, Fran Gonzalez is on the verge of joining Sevilla in a deal that will allow him to compete for the starting goalkeeper position while enabling Real Madrid to retain significant control over his future.
The 21-year-old is expected to sign a contract until 2031, with Sevilla paying around €3 million for 50% of his economic rights.
Real Madrid will keep the remaining half of those rights and will also secure buy-back options that would allow the club to re-sign him in future transfer windows for a predetermined fee.
Ready for the next step
Born in Leon in 2005, Fran Gonzalez joined Real Madrid’s academy from Cultural Leonesa in 2022.
Standing at 1.99 metres, he established himself with Castilla after earning promotion in 2024 and has since accumulated around 50 official appearances for the reserve side.
He also made his senior Real Madrid debut during the 2024-25 La Liga season when injuries to Courtois and Lunin opened the door.
Although Madrid lost 2-1 to Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu, the young goalkeeper was not considered at fault for either goal.
Real Madrid back operation despite valuing Gonzalez
Although Jose Mourinho valued Fran as a backup option behind Thibaut Courtois and Andriy Lunin, the club ultimately respected the goalkeeper’s desire to become a regular starter in La Liga.
The 21-year-old is rated very highly within the club and has even been heralded as the long-term heir to Courtois.
But an immediate spot in the senior setup was not going to open up, leading the youngster to seek a move in search of minutes at the highest level.
Respecting his wishes, Real Madrid sanctioned the move, while keeping the door open for a future return should Gonzalez develop as expected.
At Sevilla, Fran will compete with Odysseas Vlachodimos, the Greek international who has returned on loan from Newcastle United after an impressive spell in Andalusia.
Head coach Luis Garcia Plaza has great confidence in Fran’s potential and believes he is capable of earning the starting role if given the opportunity.
If the final details are completed in the coming hours, Fran could be a Sevilla player soon and will travel to their pre-season training camp in Garderen, Netherlands.
For Real Madrid, the agreement represents another example of their increasingly common strategy: allowing promising academy players to develop elsewhere while maintaining long-term control through shared ownership and buy-back rights.
Real Madrid News
Report: Mourinho’s preferred pivot combination for Real Madrid’s big games this season
The midfield pecking order at Real Madrid still remains unclear five games into the new season, especially given that Los Blancos could not make the signings they expected.
Federico Valverde has remained a constant in the double pivot under Jose Mourinho, but his partner has changed constantly.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bernardo Silva have been the manager’s primary options to partner Valverde in midfield so far this season, and Aurelien Tchouameni’s absence through injury has been one pioneering factors for the same. The Frenchman, however, is back now from injury and it remains to be seen how the dynamic changes.
The big game pair
As confirmed in a recent update on El Larguero, Jose Mourinho has decided his pivot his big games now and it will indeed be the Valverde-Tchouameni combination.
The Uruguayan star has made his presence felt this season with strong shifts in terms of pressing and an attacking output. He was even named the man of the match against Inter Milan and is seemingly undroppable.
What Tchouameni will bring to the table, however, is defensive solidity – something that is a non-negotiable given that the forwards barely provide any defensive work-rate.
Having Valverde and Tchouameni at the base of midfield will help cut short opposition buildups and disrupt the play.
Waters will be tested soon
Tchouameni made his much-awaited return to the field in Real Madrid’s game against Inter Milan and came on for Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 79th minute.
He briefly joined Valverde in the double pivot at the time and provided a glimpse of how the duo can work in tandem in the defensive midfield. However, the waters are yet to be tested adequately.
With the Frenchman now fit, Jose Mourinho could well look to start the duo together in Real Madrid’s coming games. They have played together in the past, but doing so in a double pivot in Mourinho’s system is demanding.
Moreover, there are concerns over the team’s drop in creativity and distribution with Valverde and Tchouameni at the heart of midfield, and it remains to be seen if the manager can come up with a workable solution.
After all, the players had a bad falling out on a personal level just months ago.
