REAL MADRID
Real Madrid planning summer clear-out
The club want to overhaul their squad and that will mean selling five players and loaning more to clear the way for Achraf, Odegaard and new signings.
Before anyone comes in, someone has to leave. That's the message coming from Real Madrid ahead of the summer transfer market. The dates, of course, for that window are unclear and we are not sure when the season will end. Real Madrid have a problem with too many players in their squad though regardless of when it happens. They currently have 25 players in the first team (counting Rodrygo). Reinier will also come in during the summer and there are 11 loan players who could start the season in Zidane's squad (Achraf, Odegaard, Ceballos, Reguilón, Odriozola, Kubo, Vallejo, Mayoral, Lunin, Óscar Rodríguez and Luca Zidane).
The main concern the directors at the club have is that a number of players currently in the squad will have to leave. At a minimum, four or five players will be sold. The loans are a separate issue with a number of them (Achraf and Odegaard) coming back to stay at the end of the season while more of their futures hanging in the air (Reguilon and Ceballos). The rest will leave on loan again or else leave permanently with an eye on reinvesting in younger players again.
Players will have to leave Real Madrid
Players who could leave include: James, Bale, Lucas Vázquez and Mariano. The four will leave if the right offer arrives and there are another four whose futures remains in the air too: Nacho, Marcelo, Modric and Brahim. The first three have given a lot to Madrid and the club will sit down with them in an effort to come to an agreement over their departures. With Brahim, they are hoping they can make him accept a loan deal, something they have been pushing now for the last two transfer windows.
Madrid shopping will include the return of Achraf and Odegaard along with a central midfielder. Fabián is the preferred choice by the board but Zidane wants Pogba. They also want to sign a 'nine' and Haaland is the chosen one if they can. That's provided Jovic continues as he has without hitting the heights they had hoped he would. But that will come after they make a number of sales.