Real Madrid News
Real Madrid still tracking 19-year-old Barcelona target after failing to strike summer deal
Real Madrid have ‘not taken their eyes off’ of Las Palmas wonderkid Alberto Moleiro, who is also a target for their bitter rivals Barcelona. This claim comes from AS, who state that the likes of Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund are also keen on the teenager.
Moleiro has been touted as one of the finest young prospects in Spain and has been one of Las Palmas’ better performers over the past eighteen months or so. The 19-year-old garnered a lot of attention during the summer transfer window, especially from Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Barça held talks with Las Palmas but could not meet their demands due to financial problems. As for Real Madrid, the Merengues were keen on signing the attacking midfielder but wanted him to be a part of their Castilla outfit, which did not convince the teenager.
The possibility to sign for Real Madrid and the join a first-division club on loan might have appealed to Moleiro. But the club’s desire to use him with the Castilla team, who play in the First RFEF division, did not convince the 19-year-old, as he would be dropping a level lower given that Las Palmas play in La Liga 2.
As a result, the move fell through with negotiations failing to progress. But Real Madrid are said to have continued keeping tabs on Moleiro’s development.
The 19-year-old has a contract with Las Palmas that runs until 2026. It contains a release clause worth €30 million which could rise to €60 million if the club earn promotion to La Liga next year.
Furthermore, Barcelona are considering stepping up their pursuit of Moleiro in January itself, while the interest from Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund could make things trickier for Real Madrid. For now, though, they continue to monitor all developments surrounding the teenager.
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.
Saptarshi Mukherjee
November 7, 2022 at 4:41 am
Nice