Real Madrid News
Real Madrid ready to spend well over €100 million to sign teenage midfield prodigy
The speculation over Jude Bellingham’s potential move to Real Madrid has picked up pace in recent weeks, with the Spanish champions determined to sign the Borussia Dortmund starlet as part of their plans to reinforce the midfield unit.
The club are indeed looking at a potential overhaul in the summer of 2023 amid fears over Toni Kroos’ continuity. Dani Ceballos is likely to depart on a free transfer as well, whereas Luka Modric may continue for only one more year.
This has accentuated the need for someone like Bellingham, who is currently regarded as one of the most gifted young players on the planet.
A recent report from MARCA has offered an update on Real Madrid’s pursuit of Bellingham. It suggests that the club had some doubts over the pursuit of the Englishman, primarily because of the fact that English players have not done well on Spanish soil historically.
But the fact that Bellingham has acclimatized to the Bundesliga at such a young age has convinced the Real Madrid fraternity. Not to mention, the club also have an excellent relationship with Borussia Dortmund chief Hans-Joachim Watzke.
The club are aware of the fact that they may still have to fork out well over €100 million for the services of Bellingham. It appears Real Madrid are willing to do so as well, especially given the fact that the player himself is determined to move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Liverpool and Manchester City are the two other clubs credited with an interest in Bellingham. But it appears the midfielder is not too keen on playing in the Premier League and wants to be a part of the Real Madrid project. This should greatly help the Spanish champions, in their bid to get the deal for the 19-year-old across the line.
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.
