Hala, assuming Majoral goes out on loan, we have a squad of 22, that includes the practice keeper. We have the 2nd backup for gk, all defense except RB, all CM positions, asensio behind Isco, if we go for 4-3-1-2, and Bale Or Benz plus Lucas behind Ronaldo and Bale or Benz.

If it's 4-3-2-1 - then it's Benz behind Ronaldo, Bale behind Asensio and Lucas behind Isco.

We also need to recognize that Lucas's main role will be as a deep sub at W and RB. The preferred backup to Isco will be Asensio, Kovacic and Ceballos. Also, with Zidane's love of BBC, we will see Isco and Asensio sent to the sidelines at times.

Bottom line the surplus of strikers you refer to is the very ineffective Benz and Bale. I just feel the club can do much better than them and we don't have to spend a fortune to add one final player to squad.

Forgive me, I just don't see Benz or Bale contibuting and want a scoring option when Ronaldo is out of lineup.

But I agree with you and I do realize my wish is nothing but a pipe dream!

Perhaps they can surprise us and pay back Zidane for unrelenting faith in them.

We don't have a striker who can score. That is a serious problem. I'd be happy with anyone who can stand in the box and head on goal at this point.

Siding with Old man Bill on this one, we really could do with another forward that is capable of scoring more than 10 goals AND can stay relatively fit for an entire season.

The squad is quite flexible enough to do several tactics but as we are all seeing, without Ronaldo, we do not have a forward that can apparently do forward things.

It has come up in several places that Llorente might be loaned out because he may not be in Zidane's plans. Hopefully bs.

it has to be BS, makes as much sense as Majoral staying!

It was reported that Zidane didn't go for a backup for Casemiro last year because he wanted to wait on Marcos Llorente. So when he does perform well and returns home, he will get loaned out again!! All this talk is because they look at it as 7 midfielders when in fact it is 6 CMs with Isco (and Asensio) being AMs playing as part of the attack.

Besides, in a year when we could have had three Llorentes, one (Diego) has been sold and another (Fernando) not picked up as that backup striker we could use, surely Marcos has to stay!!!

Marca reporting

"Al-Khelaïfi se siente acorralado y ralentiza el fichaje de Mbappé"
(Al-Khelaifi is cornered and slows down the signing of Mbappe)

Apparently there are real issues re FFP and the signing may not happen! Does this mean a Madrid signing might be possible after all?

The deal is surely taking its time

Mainly because they're getting rid of people first and don't want to make the negotiations one-sided when the other team knows they have to sell. Creating uncertainty to help imo.... Monaco didn't sit Mbappe unless they thought it was basically done.

It would be pretty funny if we came in at the final minutes and swooped him from PSG.

It would be great! I like to be negative about an outcome that I really want lol... keeps me sane.

All over deportes news this morning, Mbappe could end up in Madrid this week! Apparently uefa is blocking transfer to psg (ffp). Psg is meeting with them today to try to resolve. If they can't apparently Perez is set to make a late offer as Mbappe will not stay in Monaco. However it will be on Perez's terms re transfer price and salary!

Probably just a long shot, but for once uefa is putting up resistence.

It's happening

It could happen, but I doubt it. It's too late in the window and it seems as if Perez and co. Feel it's necessary to move Bale first. And since there is almost no chance Bale leaves at this point, it logically follows that it more than likely won't happen.

lol, its not going to happen. too late to make that kind of huge transfer; transfers made close to deadline day are futile, i'm sure we learned that from that de gea/fax machine move....not happening, forget it

Except UEFA has no say since it's a one year loan and has no impact on FFP this coming season. The option to buy is for next season and even then... what can they do lol. FFP can't block anything. They can only look back, see if there was an infringement and then sanction.

Complete and utter BS if you actually know the rules.

I still can't believe how batshit insane it is to go into a season without a CF...

It's absolutely crazy. Florentino hasn't changed. Just as stupid as he's always been really. He loves his superstar buys more than anything and Benzema and Bale will stay forever.

Per marca market is closed

All and all we have to trust this team to put it together we took an unnecessary risk because we did not plan anything beyond mbappe, which is baffling but we have to trust this team given how much they won recently

If either Bale or Benzema play like this again... I'm going to make a trip to the Bernabeu and voice my protest.

The possibility of going into the season with Benzema as our main CF and Mayoral as his back-up is making my blood run cold.

Forget about the clear drop in quality at the back with the departure of Pepe, why would anyone be content with Bale and Benzema to partner Ronaldo? Deadweight, both of them, doing nothing except taking up precious spots in the starting XI at the expense of far more talented, useful and deserving players.

If Benzema and Bale play the next game, after their horrible display against Valencia, then Z is seriously asking for trouble and for his head to get chopped off.

This team has the potential to go down in history as one of the greatest teams of all-time. Keep playing those two and you won't.

So...this was a tame ending to the transfer window. I mean, half of me is so glad to see Madrid be legit patient and pull off a James or a Bale transfer. The other half, fk it, I am stuck with watching Bale be useless and Benzema being Benzema but a worse version of him from last year.

I hate this. Perez's buying of players has really never been that much of a problem. It never was.

It was the selling of important players. His only huge mistake was buying bale instead of a player with basic technique.

I don't know, would offloading Bale, Benzema and James have been that hard ?

Jose was interested in Bale, he made that clear. We could have also made a deal with De Gea ...
James left anyway
And there will always be Arsenal out there for Benzema

We could have got Hazard and Mbappe, just saying or at least one of them.

But we sold Morata and kept these 2 scrubs

as much as we deride Benzema, at least he still stays fit and shows up in the biggest games a la atletico Madrid in champions league last season and supercup..but bale, he is just pure useless mass of flesh. sell him and take hazard or something. just anyone.

In other news,they say barca got mahrez. which I think Is bad for them (good for us) because it would mean messi moving to midfield to accommodate mahrez on the right , thereby leaving them with 4 attackers and an empty midfield for opponents to drive through..