Real Madrid ready to pay release clause for Betis' Júnior Firpo
Los Blancos have identified the Real Betis star as the perfect replacement for Marcelo but face competition from Arsenal and Manchester City.
Júnior Firpo has been identified as one of Real Madrid's key objectives for next season. The left-sided youngster is proving himself one of the sensations coming out of the current Real Betis side under Quique Setién and after impressive performances Los Blancos are willing to pay the 50 million euros of his release clause, seeing him move in the summer of 2019.
Junior is the Real objective
Although Santiago Solari has been very happy with the performance of Sergio Reguilón as a back-up for Marcelo, there is a belief at the club that the Betis man (also 22 years old) is ideal to take over from the Brazilian. The iconic defender turns 31 in May and Madrid want to ensure there is a suitable successor. They are also very aware of the rumours circulating about Juventus being interested in reuniting the full-back with Cristiano Ronaldo.
With Junior seen as an important signing, the European champions are looking to keep the transfer situation as simple as possible. For this reason they plan to stump up the full value of the player's release clause rather than enter into any negotiations with the club from Seville, just as they did with Sergio Ramos. The 50-million-euro clause was included in the contract extension that the player signed in August, one that runs until 2023. Unsurprisingly though, Madrid face competition for the signing of Junior from Premier League big boys Arsenal and Manchester City.
Finding a suitable replacement for left-back is something the Bernabéu club has been trying to resolve over recent seasons. The signing of Theo Hernandez didn't work out, with the player going on loan to Real Sociedad and likely to be shipped out in the summer. Theo's brother Lucas Hernández, at city rivals Atlético, was then targeted, but their advances were rebuffed. Junior is now the clear objective.
