Real Madrid News
Real Madrid set to earn €6 million as academy midfielder nears exit – report
According to AS, Real Madrid and UD Almeria are close to reaching an agreement for the sale of midfielder Manuel Angel.
The 22-year-old from Seville will play for the La Liga HyperMotion team next season.
According to the report, the 22-year-old’s sale will see Real Madrid pocket €6 million in exchange for 50% of the midfielder’s rights, keeping with the trend that the club follow with academy players.
Operation close to completion
With only the final details of the negotiation remaining, Manuel Angel is expected to sign a five-year contract plus an optional sixth season with.
Real Madrid Castilla’s captain had been training separately during pre-season while waiting to find a new destination for his career.
He will now join the long list of academy players through whom Real Madrid have generated more than €200 million in transfer income during this summer window.
Indeed, Manuel Angel will follow the likes of Cesar Palacios, Gonzalo Garcia, Fran Gonzalez, and Jacobo Ortega, among others to bid goodbye to his boyhood club this summer.
A highly-rated academy talent
The midfielder arrived at Valdebebas in 2018 after four seasons in Sevilla’s academy. After progressing through Real Madrid’s youth ranks, Manuel Angel truly broke through with the Juvenil A team.
He became the engine of Alvaro Arbeloa’s team that won a historic treble of Division de Honor, Copa del Rey and UEFA Youth League, alongside players such as Nico Paz, Gonzalo Garcia, Cesar Palacios and Jacobo Ramon.
Last season, he got the opportunity to play for the first team, making seven appearances. He made his debut in the Copa del Rey against Albacete, played four league matches and featured in the UEFA Champions League tie against Manchester City.
A Spain youth international, the midfielder will leave after three years with the reserve team.
Affectionately nicknamed Mami, he is an organising midfielder with excellent passing ability, vision, strong control of the game’s tempo and considerable tactical intelligence.
He could become a key piece in Almería’s midfield, while Real Madrid will continue to keep an eye on his progress.
According to TeamTalk, Real Madrid have joined the growing list of clubs monitoring Gabriel Rajkovic, a 15-year-old winger whose rapid development at Valerenga has already attracted attention from several of Europe’s leading sides.
The Merengues are known for keeping an eye on exciting young talent across the globe and it seems that Rajkovic’s exploits in Norway, with the first team, have alerted them.
Real Madrid keeping tabs on Rajkovic
As per the report, Real Madrid are among a host of clubs closely following the progress of the young forward.
Rajkovic holds both Norwegian and Serbian nationality and has emerged as one of the most promising young players in Norway.
His development has not gone unnoticed, with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund also understood to be monitoring him.
However, at this point, it is Arsenal and Chelsea, who are understood to be leading the charge for Rajkovic, having compiled a detailed dossier on the teenage prodigy after extensive scouting.
On top of that, the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have all watched Rajkovic in recent weeks.
Real Madrid could therefore face significant competition if they decide to step up their interest in a player who has already made an impression at senior level.
Making an impact at just 15
Rajkovic was handed a promotion to the Valerenga first-team squad in January earlier this year, when he was only 14 years old.
Following that, he signed a new contract with the club in March, when he turned 15, committing to the club until 2028.
Despite being only 15, the winger has already begun gaining experience in first-team football. In all, he has made 14 senior appearances for the Norwegian outfit, scoring three and assisting one goal.
Rajkovic has also represented Norway Under-16s, making two appearances and scoring once despite being younger than many of his teammates.
Those numbers become more impressive when his age and stage of development are taken into account.
Real Madrid have built a reputation for identifying young talent well before players reach their peak, and Rajkovic has now emerged as another name on their scouting radar.
But given the number of clubs in the race, signing the teenage wonderkid will not be easy.
