Real Madrid News
Tottenham stepped up talks to sign €45m right-back to avoid Real Madrid threat
According to journalist Bruno Andrade, Tottenham Hotspur ramped up their efforts to secure the signing of Sporting CP defender Pedro Porro in order to avoid the threat of competing with Real Madrid.
Fabrizio Romano reported last night that negotiations between Tottenham and Sporting for Porro were in advanced stages and the deal was close to being completed.
The 23-year-old right-back, who has a release clause worth €45 million, is now seemingly poised to join the Premier League in the ongoing transfer window.
And, Andrade is claiming that one of the major reasons that Spurs upped the ante in their pursuit of the right-back is that they wanted to avoid direct competition with Real Madrid for his signing in the summer.
As per the journalist, Tottenham were made aware that Real Madrid will make efforts to try and sign Porro in June should he still remain at Sporting at the time.
The Merengues have been linked with a move for the Spaniard for some time now. With Dani Carvajal’s injury problems resurfacing again, Carlo Ancelotti’s side could enter the market for a new right-back in the summer.
And Porro had been touted as one of the options on the radars of the reigning champions of Spain and Europe. In fact, some reports had even suggested that the 23-year-old would be open to wait until the summer to join Real Madrid.
Tottenham, who had been working on his signing this month, thus upped their efforts further and advanced negotiations with the Portuguese club as they wanted to avoid a transfer battle with Real Madrid in the summer.
As things stand, talks between Tottenham and Sporting are very advanced and the deal is said to be very close. So, Real Madrid look likely to miss out on Porro’s services and will likely have to look at other targets to strengthen at right-back in the summer.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid midfielder trained away from the group last week, but has no injury – report
With the international break underway, several Real Madrid players have been called up for national team assignments. The stars who have not travelled for international duty have continued to work at the club’s Valdebebas training facility to prepare for the restart.
Toni Kroos is one such player who has remained in Madrid, having retired from international football back in 2021.
However, there had been concerns growing around the 33-year-old’s physical condition as he regularly did indoor work last week and was not spotted in group training with his teammates.
Now, Sergio Quirante has come up with an update on Kroos’ situation, stating that even though the midfielder largely did individual work inside the facilities over the last week, he is fine and has no injuries.
Taking advantage of the international break, the former Bayern Munich superstar is understood to have gone through an individual program to prepare for the final, decisive stretch of the 2022/23 season.
Kroos not being injured comes as a big positive for Real Madrid, ahead of important games against Real Valladolid and Barcelona within the first five days of April.
The rest of the Real Madrid midfield contingent – Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, and Dani Ceballos – are all away on international duties and could return with some fatigue from the travel.
So, it is important that Kroos is fully fit and ready to go as Real Madrid look to cut down the gap to the top of the table in La Liga and also make it to the finals of the Copa del Rey by overturning a first-leg deficit against Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Kroos has played 37 matches this season, chipping in with two goals and five assists in the process. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, it is still unclear whether he will renew or hang up his boots.
