Real Madrid News
Real Madrid reactivate operation Erling Haaland for 2024 – report
Last season, Karim Benzema single-handedly carried Real Madrid to the UEFA Champions League title against all odds. The Frenchman’s impact on the Merengues’ success served to educate clubs around the globe about how the right central striker could increase a team’s productivity multifold.
However, his form steeply fell off after winning the Ballon d’Or. Benzema has not been the same this season in front of goal and it is clear that there are concerns in the club offices.
Real Madrid have it as their top priority to buy a centre-forward this summer. The club want a striker no matter what and are actively scouting the market for options.
Los Blancos came very close to signing Gabriel Jesus last summer and felt they had found their man in the Brazilian. However, that move fell apart owing to the limitation on the number of non-EU players allowed.
The target now is seemingly Erling Haaland, according to AS. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have reactivated the operation to sign the Norweigan international in 2024, after losing out on his signing to Manchester City last year.
The 22-year-old striker has been at the centre of Pep Guardiola’s plans this season, scoring 28 goals and providing five assists in 26 league games.
Most recently, he equalled Lionel Messi’s freak record of scoring five goals in a single UCL knockout game. Only the manager’s decision to take him off stopped him from going on to break it on the night.
It was previously reported that Haaland had a release clause which would become active in 2024. More recently, though, it has been claimed that the clause was linked with Pep Guardiola’s future at City and since he renewed until 2025, Haaland’s exit clause is no longer applicable.
However, the report adds that Real Madrid are not worried about those claims and are well aware of Haaland’s contractual details and plan to move for him next year.
The Premier League top scorer’s signing in 2024 will be independent of what happens with the clubs’s interest in Kylian Mbappe. The idea of bringing Haaland, Mbappe and Vinicius together in 2024 is not one that is completely ruled out.
With players like Toni Kroos, Eden Hazard, Luka Modric and possibly Karim Benzema likely to step away after next season, there could be enough room on the wage bill to accommodate both Haaland and Mbappe, who will become a free agent in 2024 if he does not renew with PSG.
For now, though, what is clear is that Real Madrid plan to go after Haaland next year as they look to move on from Benzema and establish a new order.
Even though Fran Garcia will be arriving to bolster the left-back slot, MARCA (h/t Madrid Xtra) is reporting that Real Madrid’s interest in Bayern Munich defender Alphonso Davies is ‘serious’.
The left-back position emerged as a major issue for Real Madrid during the 2022/23 season as Ferland Mendy spent a large chunk of the campaign out injured. With David Alaba reluctant to reprise the role, manager Carlo Ancelotti had to turn to Nacho and Eduardo Camavinga as options.
Heading into the new season, Real Madrid wish to address this issue. The plan is to offload Ferland Mendy or even possibly use him as a makeweight in the Harry Kane operation.
And, Davies is being targeted to replace the Frenchman. The Canadian international, whose current market value is €70 million, has developed into one of the most reliable left-backs in Europe during his time at Bayern Munich.
Despite having had to deal with injuries, Davies finished the 2022/23 season with a return of three goals and eight assists from 38 matches across all competitions.
The possibility of the 22-year-old pairing up with Vinicius Jr on Real Madrid’s left flank does seem very appealing. And, that is why, Los Blancos are understood to be willing to pay what it takes to sign the Bayern Munich star.
However, the Bavarians have no interest in selling Davies at this moment. He still has two years left on his contract with the German champions which does give them an upper hand.
But if Davies decides not to hold talks over a renewal and pushes for an exit, it could open the door for a possible move from Real Madrid. Even then, Bayern Munich could hold for a steep asking price, but the Merengues could be willing to go the extra mile in their efforts to sign Davies.
Bluemoon48
March 23, 2023 at 8:00 am
Good luck in that then!!!
Jeremy Poynton
March 23, 2023 at 8:05 am
A sense of entitlement larger than the Bernabeu…