Real Madrid News
Real Madrid tried to sign current Barcelona forward in 2020 – report
Ferran Torres finished last season’s La Liga as the highest scoring Spanish player in the competition, capping off his best campaign in Spain’s top flight.
He even earned a call-up for the ongoing FIFA World Cup under Luis de la Fuente as a regular member of the dynamics and continues to be a player the manager counts on as an impact substitute if not a starter.
Yet, what has always remained his lacuna is his inconsistency in front of goal. He has always been a great goalscorer on his day, but his off days see him cut an equally frustrating figure.
Real Madrid’s close call
Torres is currently one of the top pieces in Hansi Flick’s dynamics at Barcelona, but in a shocking update issued by AS, he could well have been a Real Madrid player.
Torres grew up in the circuit of Valencia, and his market value initially spiked after Spain’s special run at the U-17 World Cup in India where they returned as runners-up.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid had him on their radar at the time as he had a clause of €8 million that allowed him to leave.
At that point, Valencia handed him a first-team debut and saw that clause shoot up as per their agreement, prohibiting a move to Real Madrid.
Eventually, the player grew into a promising forward and shone at the U19 Euros, and he eventually left for Manchester City in 2020 for a fee of close to €33 million.
Even at that time, Real Madrid were interested in him and waiting for his signing, but the player preferred to move to England.
Later on in January 2022, the attacker returned to Spain, signing for Los Blancos’ arch-rivals Barcelona.
A development that aged well
While Torres is indeed a fine player in his own right, Real Madrid will not have too many regrets about missing out on his signing half a decade ago. After all, they went on to develop a formidable front line themselves.
Six years down the line, Los Blancos have a formidable attacking partnership of Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe, and could not have dreamed of much more.
Torres, meanwhile, has struggled to establish himself as a regular starter for Barcelona and even battled for minutes against a 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski until last season.
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.
