Real Madrid have Salzburg's Szoboszlai in their sights
Los Blancos are aware of their need to invest in the coming transfer markets and the young Hungarian has already done enough to convince them of his worth.
Real Madrid remain faithful to their transfer strategy of recent years: signing young, promising players at a relatively reasonable price that keeps them ahead of the richest clubs of the English Premier League and PSG. Juni Calafat and his team have a list of players that are of interest and as AS has learned, one of those getting the attention is Dominik Szoboszlai.
Szoboszlai eyed by Madrid
The 20-year-old midfielder, currently starring for RB Salzburg in Austria, has caught the eye with his recent performances in the Champions League, including scoring at the Metropolitan Wanda against Atlético. He already has four goals in European competition (two in the qualifying round and two in the group where his side is battling against Atlético, Bayern Munich and Lokomotiv Moscow).
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Szoboszlai is a star in Hungary and in Austria’s Bundesliga he has one goal and six assists to his name this season. He signed for Salzburg on 16 January 2018 and the current contract ends on 30 June 2022. This means that his club will not be able to bump up his transfer price in the summer of 2021, with just the one year left. According to Transfermarkt’s calculations his price should be around 25 million euros, very affordable in the current environment.
Competition is expected
Although his name doesn’t yet roll off everyone’s tongue, he’s admired within the game. Arsenal boss Arteta is said to like him very much, while AC Milan and RB Leipzig have already enquired about his situation, the latter better placed than others due to sharing sponsor Red Bull.
Los Blancos, however, know that a revamp is required for next season. The club will listen to offers for Isco (whose contract ends in 2022 and has a price of around €30 million) and Szoboszlai has the advantage of being able to play as the creative engine behind the centre forward or out on the left wing (despite being right footed). His versatility is a key element of his growing reputation in the game.
Due to the financial challenges brought on by the pandemic, Madrid didn’t make any major moves in the market ahead of this season, but they were able to raise more than 100 million euros in sales. And if results and performances don’t improve they know that investment is crucial. Szoboszlai’s quality-age-price ratio is very attractive for a number of reasons both on and off the pitch.
If the youngster was to sign for the Spanish giants he would follow in the footsteps of another famous Hungarian, Ferenc Puskas. Club legend Cañoncito Pum, as he was nicknamed, played 262 matches in the white shirt between 1958 and 1966 scoring 242 goals along the way. Another compatriot also featured for Los Blanocs although less successfully. Szalai played 79 matches with Castilla scoring 24 goals between 2007 and 2010. But Dominik Szoboszlai is not just hopeful potential, he is already a proven reality.