With a week left to close the current season, Real Madrid is already in the middle of ‘Operation Renewal’. Unlike other years in which the exit or entry operation prevailed, in the present both operations will alternate. The club believes that the signing of the Englishman Jude Bellingham is imminent, the main reinforcement of the summer for which Real Madrid will pay around 100 million euros plus incentives. The player, who turns 20 on June 29, said goodbye to Borussia Dortmund over the weekend without being able to play in the match in which his team lost the Bundesliga by only being able to draw with Mainz. Despite this disappointment, Bellingham was voted the best player in the last German League.
In the transfer chapter, the one that is already closed is the one on the left side of Rayo Fran GarcÃa, a former member of La Fábrica who is returning home. It also seems likely that Madrid will recover Brahim Diaz from Málaga, who has been loaned to AC Milan for the last two years. This signing is not entirely clear because Brahim would be about to stay in the Italian team and if Milan presents a very high purchase offer, it could be done with the player.
The thorniest chapter for the whites is to reinforce the lead by giving Benzema a guaranteed substitute. Carlo Ancelotti’s preference is to go and sign a proven striker like Harry Kane, but the club is not very keen on the job given the Englishman’s age (he turns 30 on July 28) and the heavy outlay that his move would cost. hiring.
In the last few hours, the option of the Brazilian Roberto Firmino has appeared, who has finished his contract with Liverpool. In this case, he also weighs against age (31 years) but would have the advantage of being a free signing, as David Alaba or Antonio Rüdiger were in their day. Other options being worked on are those of Gonçalo Ramos, a Benfica striker about to turn 22, and the 23-year-old Serbian striker for Juventus Vlahovic. Neither would be cheap. Juventus paid 75 million to Fiorentina for the Serbian in January 2022.
Madrid also has to officially announce the continuity in the squad of three of its most illustrious veterans: Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, with whom it reached an agreement weeks ago to extend their contracts for one season.
In the casualty chapter, Mariano’s is the only sure one, but in the club those of Marco Asensio, Dani Ceballos and Nacho are already considered very probable. The one from the Balearic Islands is the one that today seems the safest of the three. Asensio was already close to changing clubs last summer, when he changed agents and signed for Jorge Mendes. The Spaniard does not agree with the renewal offer that the club has made him and everything seems to indicate that his future is in the Premier. In his latest statements, Ancelotti has given the feeling of already giving him up for lost.
In the case of Nacho, the player has not informed the club of his final decision. In Madrid they believe that this time he will accept an offer abroad for a much higher token than he charges, a case similar to that of Casemiro.
The most doubtful is that of Dani Ceballos. The man from Utrera has gained prominence in the last part of the season but the arrival of Bellingham and perhaps Brahim can make him understand that it will be difficult for him to get the minutes he thinks he deserves and that he would have more easily elsewhere. He doesn’t look deserving all his life.