Real Madrid News
Real Sociedad consider move for Real Madrid youth attacker amid interest from Como – report
With Florentino Perez now officially retaining power as the Real Madrid president, things are expected to move swiftly at the Valdebebas.
Recent reports have indicated that Real Madrid are already accelerating the process of signing a new Galactico, with many pointing towards Julian Alvarez being the mystery player.
Even if it’s not Alvarez, the new player could well be a forward, which doesn’t bode well for Gonzalo Garcia, whose chances of making a breakthrough are seemingly depleting.
Real Sociedad interested in Gonzalo
According to Jorge Picon, Real Sociedad are keeping a close eye on Gonzalo Garcia’s situation at Real Madrid.
The Txuri-Urdin are looking for a new striker this summer, and Gonzalo is someone they could target, as they look for a natural goalscorer.
In Orri Orksarsson and Mikel Oyarzabal, Sociedad already boast two gifted forwards. But it appears they want to further strengthen their goalscoring unit, which goes hand in hand with Pellegrino Matarazzo’s attacking football.
Intense competition for Gonzalo
Garcia’s developing situation at Real Madrid has not gone unnoticed elsewhere either, with several clubs already showing interest in signing the La Fabrica sensation.
Como are one of the clubs that have shown interest in the youngster, while Borussia Dortmund, too, are keen on his services.
Real Madrid, for their part, are not ready to offload Garcia at any price and have remained firm on their €60 million price tag. This could potentially rule Sociedad, as well as other clubs, out of the race.
Therefore, it will be interesting to see if Sociedad try to undercut both Dortmund and Como by seeking a loan deal and help Garcia develop his talents in La Liga.
Real Madrid prospect Alexis Ciria will have to wait for his Champions League opportunity despite making a strong impression on Jose Mourinho during pre-season.
The Castilla winger has been left out of Real Madrid’s European squad, but the decision is the consequence of UEFA registration rules rather than a sporting judgment.
According to journalist Arancha Rodriguez (h/t Defensa Central), Ciria was not eligible for Madrid’s List B because he has not been with the club long enough to satisfy UEFA’s requirements.
Registering him would therefore have required Mourinho to include him on the more restrictive List A.
UEFA rules work against Ciria
List B provides clubs with additional flexibility to register young academy players, but being young enough is not sufficient on its own.
Players must also meet requirements concerning how long they have been eligible to represent the club.
Ciria does not meet those conditions because of his limited time at Valdebebas. Real Madrid would therefore have needed to sacrifice a List A position to register him.
With those places required for members of Mourinho’s senior squad, Ciria was ultimately left out.
Real Madrid’s List B instead includes youngsters such as Joan Martinez, Mario Rivas, Thiago Pitarch, Jorge Cestero and Daniel Yanez.
Many of these youngsters made a name for themselves under Mourinho during pre-season and could be used to make up the numbers in the Champions League squad.
They could also get some minutes off the bench, especially against relatively easier opposition, as Jose Mourinho looks to manage first-team minutes.
Mourinho still plans first-team opportunity
Importantly for Ciria, missing the Champions League squad does not appear to reflect a change in Mourinho’s opinion of him.
The youngster impressed during pre-season and is expected to continue spending time around the senior team.
Mourinho intends to give Ciria his official first-team debut during the season. That opportunity will now have to arrive in La Liga or the Copa del Rey.
The Portuguese tactician placed a lot of emphasis on trusting Castilla players during pre-season in the absence of first-team stars.
Ciria was one of the many names who made a name for themselves at Real Madrid during pre-season. He deserves a chance in the first team, and it remains to be seen how Jose plans his development.
