Real Madrid's Brahim Díaz: clubs queue up to take starlet on loan
Real Madrid's plan in principle is to send Brahim Díaz out on loan next season, and the 19-year-old won't be short on possible destinations.
The impact made by Brahim Díaz is one of the chief positives to have come out of Real Madrid's last two games, and has served to strengthen the sense that the club's 15-million-euro January outlay on the former Manchester City midfielder is indeed a sound investment for the future.
Having made the most of a 10-minute substitute appearance in the 3-0 weekend win over Athletic Bilbao, the 19-year-old was handed a start at Getafe on Thursday night and again impressed, despite Los Merengues being held to a goalless draw at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez.
Real Madrid planning loan spell in face of Diáz reluctance
No firm decision has yet been made, but Madrid's plan in principle is to send Díaz out on loan next season. The player is reluctant to leave (indeed, during his time at City, he blocked the Premier League champions' attempts to arrange a spell at another club), but if it is the course of action that Madrid opt to take, his camp is confident he'll be persuaded of its merits.
Several sides have expressed an interest, and Díaz's promising recent displays have only lengthened his list of admirers. This leaves club and player ideally placed to pick the best possible destination for him, as was the case with Marco Asensio in 2015. With teams queuing up to take Asensio on loan, Espanyol were finally deemed the most suitable place for the winger to continue his development - and so it proved.
With Diáz's eye-catching run-out at Getafe likely to have assuaged any doubts his potential suitors might have had about his abilities, the main remaining issue would appear to be his wages: he commands a salary which, even if Madrid continue to pick up part of it, some clubs could baulk at.
Zidane won't make Díaz decision until pre-season
A final decision on his immediate future will be put off until the pre-season period, however. Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is pleased with what he has seen from the Spain Under-21 cap, and wants more time to run the rule over him. Once this summer's transfer ins and outs have been more clearly defined, the Frenchman will decide whether or not Díaz is likely to get game time at the Bernabéu next term.
If Zidane can't make room for the starlet, he'll be loaned out to avoid hampering his growth as a player. And he certainly won't be short on offers...