Covid transfer market

Nick, I haven’t seen any Castilla games this season. I did hear about Blanco recently. Is there anyone else showing promise? And how is Raul’s coaching?

Given the club seems to be getting rid of most youth assets and only a few being left out on loans, I’m wondering what’s left in the academy. Last time I looked into it (well over a year ago) the cupboard was mostly bare. I did read that they are close to getting a striker prospect for Castilla from Getafe on a loan basis with an option to buy.

Looks like sales of both James and Mayoral are going through.

That leaves only Mariano (note I’m ignoring Bale as i’m convinced he spends year on golf course) as a must sell.

As to youth possibly being sold, the list is now down to

Oscar Rodriquez - there is interest from both La Real and Sevilla, however with him now being selected for NT, the eventual deal may be a loan or a sale with buy back option.

Reguilion - there is interest from EPL and Sevilla. My personal opinion is if you must sell make it with buyback option.

Ceballos - the statement is he is back for training camp and it’s Zidane’s decision if he stays or not. As I have said earlier, Zidane should decide if he will be part of team, this year or in future and if the answer is negative, they should sell him. If he does have a role, loan him out again for more playing time, unless Isco (or Modric) goes.

Odriozola - i believe the decision for backup RB is between Lucas and Odriozola. The loser should be sold.

As to Flo recouping the Lost gate revenue, i believe the number with reported sale values of James and Mayoral puts the sale income in neighborhood of 100M. Bottom line it seems they will be somewhat short of desired income.

Oscar is also courted by Milan, same with Brahim.

We should keep Ceballos and sell Isco who has been beyond awful this season.

Also, Odriozola has to be Carvajal's backup, he's a natural RB unlike Vazquez

Keep Isco over Ceballos for sure.

Ceballos will definitely be sold to Arsenal

Regui and Odri should both be kept. They are good young players in positions that need cover.

I don't know why Modric and Marcelo sales aren't being mooted.

Marcelo I understand, vice captain and club legend. But Modric is super old and was super poor last season.

Maybe I'm too much of a pragmatist, but it's financial sense over loyalty.

Modric can still contribute on the pitch, as shown many times last season (not every 3 days but still), and let's not forget about his off-the-pitch influence on the younger guns. It's one thing for the likes of Vinicius / Valverde / Odegaard to train with legit great players like Modric or Marcelo, and another thing to train with other kids (otherwise good players) like Reguilon

As a young player you need experienced ones to look up to

Modric is also a legend

Re Ceballos - I'd keep him because he's fitter, motivated and a CM. Isco is a CAM and he has truly been awful (unlike Modric, as he can still teach Isco some football lessons even at his age). Isco doesn't even look like a footballer anymore and we can't afford 2 of this type in him and Hazard in our squad

Imagine thinking that Modric is not a club legend lmao

What are we going to do about the RW spot ? We’ve got Kubo there but he’s 2 season away from coming home, while Asensio is bang average and Goes is not much better at all (they are very similar in their passive approach playing on the wing)

What’s your stance on Oyarzabal guys ? Could he be an option? Left footed, quick off the mark and a a good dribbler and passer. He could complement Vinicius quiet well on the wings, one is explosive and makes runs in behind while the other is more of a creator who prefers the ball at his feet

What part of no new signings, do you not understand?

futbol_bill wrote:What part of no new signings, do you not understand?

the world won’t end this year for everyone old man

Who is talking about a dismal end? I'm just commenting on economic reality for this season and what the president of club has said publicly numerous times.

Our club will come out of this recession very well. Not so clear is what will happen to our competitors!

and as far as this season's squad, it actually isn't that far off. Mind you there are several second chances in play. Good news, expectations are not that high and Zidane / club will have a good long opportunity to assess who deserves to stay and what / where are the needs to complete squad. And just to be clear, I liked what Nick and co were saying in Mbappe not only being the prime target but of being the RW you were speculating about plus going after a Haaland for CF.

Valkyrja wrote:What are we going to do about the RW spot ? We’ve got Kubo there but he’s 2 season away from coming home, while Asensio is bang average and Goes is not much better at all (they are very similar in their passive approach playing on the wing)

What’s your stance on Oyarzabal guys ? Could he be an option? Left footed, quick off the mark and a a good dribbler and passer. He could complement Vinicius quiet well on the wings, one is explosive and makes runs in behind while the other is more of a creator who prefers the ball at his feet

I think our right wing is going to look fine. Rodrygo is really good and for someone playing his first season in Madrid, he has done really well at all level. I’m curious to see him mature a bit more physically, and he is going to naturally improve and get better.

So on the right wing you have Rodrygo and Asensio but you also have Odegaard who can play as an advanced playmaker on that side. That gives us options. We are not going to sign another winger at this point

Zidane is going to play Odegaard in right wing position. Zidane i know is a conservative when it comes to midfield.

He is certainly going to experiment, which is not a bad thing

Mr Nick09 wrote:He is certainly going to experiment, which is not a bad thing

Yea I agree Nick. The way the numbers excluding Bale, from what is likely the squad are 2 per position, all of them trusted by Zidane (except for squad players Nacho, Lucas and / or Odriozola) makes for experimentation giving entire squad amble opportunities to prove their worth.

On the exits, deals are close for James, Mariano (although his salary remains an issue), Mayoral, Oscar Rodriguez and Brahim loan plus Luca Zidane on his way to Monpellier on a free transfer. Only one remaining from exit list is Soro (last year he was on loan to 2A Zaragoza.

And re Reguilion and Ceballos, i get the sense, both may remain in club’s plans with the former possibly sold with buyback and Ceballos returned on loan to Arsenal.

this season we’re good with Odegaard but only with Vinicius on the left. he’s too similar to hazard for both to play

he’s better suited to this kind of role than isco, as he’s left footed and can naturally drift to the right

can’t wait for kubo though. can complement vini perfectly on the wings, with odegaard behind the CF

Valkyrja wrote:What’s your stance on Oyarzabal guys ? Could he be an option? Left footed, quick off the mark and a a good dribbler and passer. He could complement Vinicius quiet well on the wings, one is explosive and makes runs in behind while the other is more of a creator who prefers the ball at his feet

I think I've expressed my thoughts on Oyarzabal on here before. He's still young, but he looks very much like a good, mid-table forward, to me. At best, he's a decent goal threat. I honestly don't understand what his hype is all about, but he does the job for a club that wishes to ideally fight for a top spot in the league.

He has occasionally looked good, his all-round game is above average, but there's nothing about him that makes me think that he deserves to be playing for a better club than Sociedad. He's slightly more productive than Willian José and Portu, and I'm not a huge fan of any of them. They're all decent to good.

Oscar Rodriguez gone to Sevilla. we keep 25% of his rights.

Comunicado Oficial: Óscar Rodríguez.#RealMadrid

— Real Madrid C.F. (34) (@realmadrid) August 29, 2020

Ceballos back to Arsenal

Once we sell James we will be close to 100 millions in sales

Mr Nick09 wrote:Ceballos back to Arsenal

Once we sell James we will be close to 100 millions in sales

that’s a good move for both club and player.

With Ceballos taken care of, the only remaining exits are

Reguilion - probable sale to either Tottenham, Man U, Juve or Inter. He is an option IMO after Marcelo leaves so  I’m hoping for a buyback option.

Mariano  - deal has been agreed by club with Benfica, but Player hasn’t agreed. Seems like his 4M salary is the issue. Apparently Zidane was meeting with him to tell him he won’t get minutes in staying.

Mayoral - Valencia is supposedly interested at 20M as the Rodrigo replacement, but it’s been a couple of days since Rodrigo deal was reached. I suspect, given Valencia dire financial situation, they likely are trying to lower price and club might agree as he is out of contract this season.

Odriozola or Lucas - this one is likely a week or two away and will depend on who Zidane wants as backup RB. The loser should be sold, but squad numbers now allow both to stay. Numbers now, excluding these two are Gk -3, defense - 7, midfield - 6, forwards - 6 plus Bale (@$&$#) makes total 23 plus Lucas, Odriozola.

Update to my post of Aug 31.

Reguilion - Club has reversed its course and have declined to sell him. I believe they wanted a sale with buyback, but the offers were for outright sale. He will likely go, but it looks like it will be a loan and probably a return to Sevilla. They are anxious to have him back but can't afford the asking price so they are willing to take similar loan deal and are hoping their buy option is low enough that they can meet it next summer. Meanwhile the club could very well be interested next summer if Marcelo departs as expected.

Mariano - He rejected the Benfica offer. As Nick said some time ago, it was a huge mistake for club to give him that $M salary. Now apparently there is nothing on the table despite Zidane telling him he won't be getting minutes this season. He becomes a second unwanted surplus forward taking a squad spot.

Mayoral - no change, however you have to think Madrid will lower their demand as he is out of contract next June so it likely will be a case of take whatever Valencia can afford to pay.

Backup RB - no change, although apparently there is a possibility (I suspect low) that Nacho could leave.

oh and there was one last ex Castilla sale last week. Soro who had been with Zaragoza in 2A was sold to Granada.

Did you get a buy-back option on Reguilón?

Of course we did, buy back and option to match any bid for him for the next 2 years. The buy back clause is in the 40-45 millions range

Great. He'll come good in the future.

Mayoral gone to Roma on loan with option to buy

Mr Nick09 wrote:Mayoral gone to Roma on loan with option to buy

If this loan is now official, it means Mayoral renewed as that was a condition on deal happening.

Did you notice the price Nick? It’s 3M for the loan and 9M for the purchase. 12M in total! That’s quite a drop from the 20M they were asking Valencia to pay.

In any event, this settles roster, with Jovic and Mariano staying.