Real Madrid News
Real Madrid superstar not back in team training, out of El Clasico – report
Earlier this week, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was adamant about the return of Thibaut Courtois.
The Belgian international has been sidelined for a couple of weeks due to an injury. But the Real Madrid coach sparked hopes of his return against FC Barcelona in the revered El Clasico on Sunday.
However, according to Sergio Santos, Courtois has been ruled out for the game as he has not yet fully recovered from his knock. This comes after similar reports from Sergio Quirante that suggested that the goalkeeper had missed training once again, ahead of the encounter.
In his report, Santos adds that the former Chelsea shot-stopper had known about his fate since yesterday when he did not train with the team.
But Real Madrid had kept repeatedly flowing the possibility of him returning to action for the Barcelona game in order to maintain the intrigue and keep the opposition guessing, ahead of this crucial encounter.
That is where Carlo Ancelotti’s comments come into the fray. The Italian had said that Courtois had trained ahead of the game and had a test pending before he could be given the clearance to feature against Barcelona.
However, with the Belgian now ruled out of action, Real Madrid are set to continue with Andriy Lunin as their main shot-stopper. This is arguably going to be the toughest test yet for the young Ukrainian goalkeeper, who has already featured in four competitive matches this season.
Manchester City have now joined the ever-growing list of admirers for Celta Vigo midfielder and Real Madrid target Gabri Veiga, reports Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail.
The 20-year-old midfielder has emerged as one of the breakout stars of La Liga this season, having impressed with his goalscoring abilities from the centre of the park. Indeed, the youngster has notched up nine goals in La Liga and his exploits have made the giants of Europe sit up and take notice.
Real Madrid are said to be interested in Veiga’s services heading into the summer. The Merengues have Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Dani Ceballos on expiring contracts and it is unlikely that all three will be renewed, especially with Jude Bellingham being on the agenda.
In case of Modric and Kroos, even if they stay, it will likely be for only a season at the most. Hence, Los Blancos could require more than one central midfielder come summer, with Veiga emerging as an option.
The 20-year-old was also attracting interest from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid. Now, Manchester City have also jumped on the bandwagon of clubs interested in Veiga’s services.
The Cityzens, who are battling Real Madrid for Bellingham as well, are set to lose Ilkay Gundogan in the summer when his contract expires. Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva’s future is also far from certain, thus necessitating the signing of another midfielder.
Veiga has a release clause worth €40 million in his contract with Celta Vigo, which should not be a problem for either Real Madrid or Manchester City.
Celta Vigo president Carlos Mourino recently admitted that the midfielder could leave the club in the summer, saying:
“We don’t want to sell Gabri Veiga, but they are going to buy him from us. And we can’t do anything there. We know some of his offers and it is impossible to reach them.
“There are several teams behind Gabri. Real Madrid? They haven’t asked us, we don’t know if they will have called the player. Of the top 10 in the Premier League, four have asked about him.”
It will certainly be interesting to see whether Real Madrid are prepared to go all out for Veiga’s signing or decide to entirely focus on their pursuit of Bellingham.
