Real Madrid News
Real Madrid rivalled by PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City, and United for €120m target
Enzo Fernandez has become one of the hottest commodities in the transfer market in light of his eye-catching performances for Argentina at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
The 21-year-old SL Benfica midfielder was named the Best Young Player of the Tournament after he helped La Albiceleste win the World Cup.
His exploits in Qatar and his performances for Benfica prior to that have meant that a slew of clubs from across Europe have cast admiring glances towards the young midfielder.
Real Madrid and Liverpool are already said to be battling for Enzo Fernandez’s signing. But Portuguese publication Record is reporting that the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and PSG are also in the hunt to sign the midfielder.
Los Blancos’ search for a new midfielder is no secret as the reigning champions of Spain and Europe are looking to transition from the old guard of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, who are entering the final phase of their respective careers.
Bellingham has been the top priority for Real Madrid for a long time now. And while reports suggest that they are now in pole position to sign the England international, the Merengues are keeping their options open, especially with Liverpool pushing for his signing as well.
Enzo Fernandez, to that end, has emerged as a Plan B. But, given the number of top clubs interested in the 21-year-old could make it difficult for Real Madrid to land him either.
At the same time, though, Benfica will demand any interested club pay the Argentine star’s entire €120 million release clause amount. There will be no room for negotiations with regard to the transfer fee, with the report suggesting that they have already rejected a €100 million bid for him.
What now remains to be seen is whether Real Madrid push for Fernandez’s signing or continue to prioritise a move for Bellingham, who could also cost around €120 million.
In what could be a real deal breaker for Real Madrid ahead of their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg clash against Barcelona, it has been revealed that as many as three Barça will be absent from the game while another key player remains a major doubt.
The list includes the likes of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen. The trio is certain to miss the game through respective injuries while a certain Frenkie de Jong is more or less ruled out, as per Javi Miguel.
It must be remembered that Barcelona are heading into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage. But the absence of the aforementioned players means Madrid can work on exploiting the frailties.
Despite the absence of such big names, Barcelona did pretty well against Elche in their previous outing, coming out 4-0 victorious, with the goals coming from Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
With options lacking in midfield, Xavi decided to use the likes of Sergi Roberto and Eric Garcia along with Gavi in the heart of the lineup. In any way, they do have Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie as backups if needed.
The defence, on the other hand, was perfectly guarded by Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde.
One can expect Xavi to once again interchange Araujo with Kounde on the right since the Uruguayan has been rather successful in minimizing the threat of Vinicius Jr.
As far as Madrid are concerned, they are sweating over the fitness of three key defenders, namely, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy. Between these three, the Frenchman is out for about a month while Rudiger and Nacho are expected to be back before the Clasico.
If there are no casualties against Real Valladolid, Madrid will have a perfect midfield and attack, with only Mariano Diaz missing.
