Real Madrid: Marcos Llorente set to leave this summer
The defensive midfielder is expected to depart in search of regular first-team football, with Real Sociedad and Eintracht Frankfurt both keen.
Marcos Llorente is expected to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season. Having been relegated to a fringe role by the LaLiga giants' coach, Zinedine Zidane, he doesn't want to go through the same experience next term.
Set to leave after disappointing season back at Bernabéu
And the defensive midfielder, 23, is not short of suitors, with Real Sociedad and Eintracht Frankfurt well placed.
Llorente returned to the Bernabéu in the summer after excelling on loan at Alavés in 2016-17, but has struggled to compete with first-choice anchorman Casemiro, and has regularly failed to even make the bench.
In total, Zidane has given Llorente just 942 minutes of playing time this season, mostly in Los Merengues' unsuccessful Copa del Rey campaign. In LaLiga and the Champions League, he has mustered just 182 minutes of action this calendar year.
Real Sociedad the favourites for Llorente's signature
Against this backdrop, he is set to explore the options available to him in the summer, with La Real seemingly the frontrunners to sign him, possibly as part of a deal to take right-back Álvaro Odriozola the other way. The Basques' cause is aided by the fact that Llorente's brother, Diego, is already at Anoeta.
However, it is unclear whether the recent departures of coach Eusebio Sacristán and sporting director Loren will affect La Real's interest in Llorente.
Eintracht keen to take Llorente to Bundesliga
Meanwhile, Eintracht would be keen to snap up Llorente - particularly if, as expected, Real Madrid opt to re-sign his fellow defensive midfielder, Omar Mascarell, from the Germans.
The Bundesliga club view the excellent relationship between their sporting director, Fredi Bobic, and Real general manager José Ángel Sánchez as a potential ace card, while their prospects of landing the player are also boosted by the good progress made by both Mascarell and Jesús Vallejo after joining Eintracht from Los Blancos.
| Classification | PTS | WM | TM | LM |
|---|
| Upcoming matches |
|---|
