Real Madrid News
Real Madrid’s transfer policy set for major changes under Jose Mourinho – report
Jose Mourinho’s return to Real Madrid is now only a matter of time.
13 years after previously saying goodbye to the club, the Portuguese tactician will take the reins of the team from Alvaro Arbeloa and aim to guide the Merengues out of their recent rut.
As already confirmed, a full agreement has been reached between the two parties, with Mourinho set to sign a three-year contract until 2029.
Major shift in transfer policies
Mourinho’s arrival is expected to usher in a lot of changes at Real Madrid, with journalist Rodra (h/t Madrid Zone) reporting that there will be a marked shift in the club’s transfer policy as well.
Indeed, with the Portuguese head coach in charge, Real Madrid are all set to abandon their ‘perfect target only’ transfer philosophy.
In the past, Los Blancos would have a singular ‘ideal’ target in their mind and would go after that player. If the move fell through, they would opt against signing alternatives.
However, now, Real Madrid are expected to adopt a more pragmatic transfer policy that directly addresses squad needs in weak positions, instead of only going for what they consider the ‘perfect targets’.
January transfer windows will matter
In addition, the journalist reports that Real Madrid are expected to start treating the January window as a serious opportunity to bolster the squad.
For years now, Florentino Perez has adopted a strict policy of not signing players in the winter window, with the belief being that the prices are inflated in the market mid-season and their preferred targets are mostly unavailable.
Given that stance, Real Madrid went without any new signings in January in the past few years despite having been dealing with a mountain of injury problems. In fact, since Brahim Diaz’s signing in January 2019, there have been no first-team arrivals at the club in the winter.
However, with Mourinho at the helm, that is expected to change and considerations will be made to improve the squad midway through the season if needed.
Real Madrid News
Rayo Vallecano manager names the one Real Madrid figure he would remove from the team
Rayo Vallecano face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on a wounded Real Madrid this weekend.
Life after Inigo Perez has not been kind to the Vallecas-based club, who have already had to travel to Camp Nou and now face a trip to the home of their city giants.
Speaking ahead of the game (h/t Madrid Xtra), Rayo Vallecano manager Benat San Jose was asked which Real Madrid player he would like to remove from the team before this weekend’s game.
Surprisingly, his choice was not Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior or Thibaut Courtois.
“Mourinho”
Asked which Madrid player he would take out of the upcoming contest, Benat jokingly chose the man sitting on the opposition bench.
“Which Real Madrid player I’d remove from the match against them? Mourinho,” Benat said with a laugh.
The answer might have been delivered jokingly, but the Rayo coach immediately made clear just how highly he rates the Portuguese manager.
“He’s one of the best managers in history,” he added.
It is significant praise ahead of Saturday’s meeting at the Bernabeu.
Madrid’s squad contains enough individual quality to give any opposition coach several obvious answers, but Benat instead highlighted the influence Mourinho can have over the entire team.
That has become particularly relevant since the Portuguese coach returned to Madrid. His early work has focused on making a talented group function with greater collective discipline.
Courtois and Madrid’s attack also praised
Benat did not stop with the manager.
“They also have one of the best GKs in history and one of the best attackers in history,” he said.
Benat will definitely have seen how Thibaut Courtois played against Inter Milan in midweek and will hope that version does not turn up again this weekend.
Even when teams manage to create opportunities against Madrid, they still have to beat one of the defining goalkeepers of his generation.
At the opposite end, Madrid possess attacking quality capable of turning a match on its head.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham can all decide matches single-handedly.
Madrid have a point to prove
Madrid are coming off a disappointing loss to Real Betis in La Liga last weekend and will come into this game with a point to prove.
They will want to ensure that the loss to the Andalusian club was a one-off and that they return to winning ways against Rayo.
Their title rivals, Barça, have been flying high in the league, scoring goals and picking opponents apart for fun.
Madrid need to ensure that they do not hand too much early incentive to Barça, and it remains to be seen how Los Blancos fare against Rayo Vallecano.
