Covid transfer market

Love what I saw from Odegaard last season and I hope he is ready to make a strong case to replace one of our mids. In my opinion, Valverde/Casemiro/Odegaard midfield has serious potential.

Also I am going to assume our transfers out would be James, Mariano, Odiorzola (I have a feeling Zidane would want to keep experimenting with Vazquez at RB), Reguilon, Brahim (on loan) and Vallejo. I would also give an ambitious prediction that one of Vini and Rodrygo will be loaned too since Asensio is back, and I don't think Zidane has given up on Asensio.

On the weekend, Perez addressed the team telling them to be careful and responsible in next 3 weeks (vacation) and that there will be no signings. The only new players will be returning loanees, Odegaard, Lunin and possibly Ceballos (apparently he is coming to training camp and it’s Zidane decision whether he stays or goes back out on loan). I agree with you Perucho, I don’t see Odriozola back, as Zidane obviously likes Lucas and there is no longer room for him up front.

The list of potential sales are Mayoral, Vallejo, Soro, Reguilion, Odriozola and Oscar re players that were on loan. Oscar may stay on loan as club is offering him to La Real in exchange for bringing back Odegaard.

The players that will be out on loan are only those who still are viewed as potential for 1st team; Kubo, Reiner, Brahim and possibly Ceballos.

Players on first team likely to be sold are Mariano and James.

Note re Ceballos staying, the squad numbers, if these sales go thru is 25, so it’s either keep backup GK out of official numbers or sell Modric or Isco! Or somehow list Bale as on the “golf” squad.

As to Vinicius and Rodrygo going out on loan, I don’t believe so. Both have shown they have potential and are developing and Zidane plays them a lot. Besides without them there is only Bale and Jovic as forward reserves.

it is unwise to send vini and rodri on loan, that might leave the team short on forwards (wide forwards and centers). so i agree with the above still keep them here. if what bill posted is true, the team will have around 7 midfield players next season; KCM, valverde, isco, odegaard and ceballos. the club should be careful with jovic, last thing one wants is if benzema gets injured or out of form not to have someone to plug in. and i dont mean, stuff like putting a non cf in that role like hazard, asensio, vini etc in the cf position

i would say hold unto jovic for now, at least he's still young, if he flops we can still get some cash off him next summer, not 50 million but something reasonable. its not like he's 26 ala james and bale where their stock keeps declining

it is unwise to send vini and rodri on loan, that might leave the team short on forwards (wide forwards and centers). so i agree with the above still keep them here. if what bill posted is true, the team will have around 7 midfield players next season; KCM, valverde, isco, odegaard and ceballos. the club should be careful with jovic, last thing one wants is if benzema gets injured or out of form not to have someone to plug in. and i dont mean, stuff like putting a non cf in that role like hazard, asensio, vini etc in the cf position

i would say hold unto jovic for now, at least he's still young, if he flops we can still get some cash off him next summer, not 50 million but something reasonable. its not like he's 26 ala james and bale where their stock keeps declining

also wanted to mention. if perez did indeed speak with the players and tell them to be responsible....if that did happen, that sounds like a challenge to hazard. dont come to training camp with all that extra fat and unnecessary kilograms. he looked super unprofessional. the fact i was never a fan of his to begin with, he did little to change my perspective on him as a footballer

lol Tito, it was in reference to social distancing. If anything it might have been directed to Jovic!

oh lol yeah you right , i forgot about jovic's escapades. but hazard still better not come back looking like he's been eating cheese butter steak and beers all summer

titosantill wrote:it is unwise to send vini and rodri on loan, that might leave the team short on forwards (wide forwards and centers). so i agree with the above still keep them here. if what bill posted is true, the team will have around 7 midfield players next season; KCM, valverde, isco, odegaard and ceballos. the club should be careful with jovic, last thing one wants is if benzema gets injured or out of form not to have someone to plug in. and i dont mean, stuff like putting a non cf in that role like hazard, asensio, vini etc in the cf position

i would say hold unto jovic for now, at least he's still young, if he flops we can still get some cash off him next summer, not 50 million but something reasonable. its not like he's 26 ala james and bale where their stock keeps declining

I see I had forgotten to include the high possibility that Bale will not play again and just see out his contract.

So forwards would be Benzema, Jovic, Hazard, Vinicius, Asensio, Rodrygo. Out is Mariano, Brahim on loan and Lucas moving as RB/RM/RW hybrid and a sub for Carvajal. I think that is okay for next season considering we cannot make a big transfer.

titosantill wrote:oh lol yeah you right , i forgot about jovic's escapades. but hazard still better not come back looking like he's been eating cheese butter steak and beers all summer

Nah, not steak. That's too much waffles and sausage.

If what posted becomes a reality, it means the club’s youth pursuit has borne fruition. The team would consist of youth recruits, Lunin, Militao, Mendy, Valverde, Odegaard, Ceballos (maybe), Vinicius, Rodrygo, and Asensio plus the established veterans plus Hazard and Jovic.

Granted it will be due to the economics of Covid, but it does say those critics of Perez’s youth pursuit were wrong. Look at the roster mess at Barca in comparison. This comparison clearly demonstrates the signing these 100M+ over hyped players does not work.

I believe the club’s philosophy is we have good talent, that it is good enough to compete and let’s give them a good shot to see if they can become a championship team. In summer 2021, they can fulfill whatever gaps might remain. Also bear in mind, they are selling the excess youth and only retaining the remaining promises (Kubo, Reiner, Brahim and possibly Ceballos). And they are pushing Vinicius (this January) and Militao, Rodrygo (following year) to get Spanish duo citizenship to pave the future way to team for Kubo and Reiner.

Also at work here is giving Hazard and Jovic another season to prove themselves after poor 1st year.

futbol_bill wrote:

Granted it will be due to the economics of Covid, but it does say those critics of Perez’s youth pursuit were wrong. Look at the roster mess at Barca in comparison. This comparison clearly demonstrates the signing these 100M+ over hyped players does not work.
r.

their mess is more of signing expensive hyped players and playing them out of position, than just signing expensive hyped players. besides, we won la liga due to being carried by the oldies (benzema ramos kroos etc) not necessarily on the backs of the youth. its still way too early/premature to say youth pursuit has been a success or failure. when the youth guys become first team starters and carry us to titles then we can give them the crown.

what we know for sure is that florentino is willing to maneuver and make adjustments as long as he feels it makes economic sense. the adjustment is an economic model rather than a philosophical or sporting one .....it is a business afterall

Well I think we're saving our $$$ for Mbappe to replace someone up front, likely a CB and Camavinga is strongly rumored to be waiting a year for Madrid to get him (would have been this year if not for covid).

I think we're just going to bring loanees back this summer and hope Jovic & Hazard get better + kids develop some. Would be nice to get rid of James and Bale... but we won't.

The day that we sign Mbappe it’s gonna be the end for one of the kids. Mbappe is not a number 9, he is a wonderful striker but he needs freedom. Also he is starting to enjoy himself as a left striker more and more, pretty in the same zone that Ronaldo used to play.

Sticking him in the number 9 role is never gonna work if we don’t give him the freedom to go wide and to take on players. IMO, I see a collision course between signing Mbappe and Vinicius, not to mention Hazard.

Which also suggest long term, another number 9 is gonna be needed. I loved seeing us linked with Haaland earlier this season, I hardly see a way around getting that kind of number 9 if we have plans to sign Mbappe. Thankfully he has a low release clause. Just my 2 cents

Agreed. Mbappe at pure 9 is a waste. Haaland would be perfect. They would score 100 goals per season between the two of them lol... could you imagine!

that Haaland clause comes into effect only 2022 I believe

then it's something like 65 or 70

I think the priority this off season should be to reduce the bloated squad that we have. Certain established have to leave or we will never see change. After playimg every big game with 4 man mid or Valverde as a starter ZZ felt obliged to start our tried and failed midfield 3. Modric with all due respect tp what he has achieved has to be let go or next season he will start our biggest games and we'll be left chasing the ball with our slow midfield.

It's time to really trust our young players such as Vini, Odegaard and Valverde or we'll go out in the last 16 again

I feel like ZZ really prioritised the league this season. Now that he has it he can go back to prioritising the CL again por favor

The league starts in a month and no way Hazard is in shape by that time. It would be a mistake to have him there from start

According to Marca, haaland clause starts in 2021 and according to Bild it was 2022 lol, 75 mil. Dortmund are very smart and they still own Isak who just had a very good debut season in la liga.

Zidane style of man management is that he makes everyone feel like they can play except for a few exceptions like with Ceballos, Bale and James. So it becomes hard to tell fringe players they can leave.

It doesn’t look like people are activating themselves to go anywhere at this point, and I suspect no one wants to leave.

Paying Mariano 4.5 millions net per year was also very stupid. Why would he want to go now? Most clubs would offer him half of that. We have too many sacred cows on the bench who are unconcerned about their playing time because of how good they have it in their bank accounts lol. Can’t blame them

I agree with what several of you said yesterday.

I'm not too concerned about CL exit this year. The reality is la liga is definitely down in quality this year and quite frankly we went into the Covid break slightly on top because of inept Barca and Atleti (does anyone else find it amusing that our DM Llorente has become their SS!). And we came out of the break a different and improved team with most of squad playing a role. But there is no doubt in my mind that quality of futbol this year is lower than past seasons and thus I don't have much regard for this year's end results.

But looking at our main rivals, we are much better position for next year and beyond.

Flo is first and foremost financially astute. I believe the rationale for now is shed assets no longer needed (or not expected to contributed) and hopefully that can make up for the lost gate revenue. Second factor is seeing how the two disappointments (Hazard and Jovic) can bounce back and then see how well the kids develop. The younger guys get good loan deals to keep them developing plus working out the import spots availability. This team will be competitive, but it remains to be seen if they are good enough for CL.

We will go into following season in good financial shape, especially if they arrive at a stadium sponsorship deal in the next year.

The only doubts I have re this season's squad are Lunin and Ceballos.

With Lunin,  I don't think he is finished development. Granted he did have a good second half with 2nd level Oviedo, but he couldn't make it with two low level 1st divisions  teams and sitting on the bench at Madrid won't help his development.

Similar with Ceballos, He started off well at Arsenal and finished up ok, but most of the season he was not effective. If he does make it on squad he will be 6th or 7th midfielder which would mean very limited playing time. I also believe if he is going to come, either Modric or Isco has to go.Too be frank (and bear in mind I was a Ceballos fan), I think the question Zidane has to answer is does he see a role for Ceballos either this year or in future? If it is not, then they should sell him.

As to kicking guys out, I believe both Modric and Marcelo are going to have bench roles in what likely will be their last season. Similarly I see the bench players; Nacho and Lucas staying another season until they see what the kids do and who comes in next year. So that leaves James, Mariano and Isco. (Bale of course, but we all know that ain't going to happen).

I also agree that bringing in Mbappe (plus Haaland) and Camavinga will likely cause at least one of the kids to be surplus or perpetual  bench players.

But isn't that what signing a much of promises to see who works out or not, is all about.
In my mind, it’s what IBM was doing in the 1970s. They would hire as many top IT graduates As they could find and let them fight it out to rise in the ranks. Those that didn’t make it, left and went to other (at that time, lower ranked) companies.

Mr Nick09 wrote:According to Marca, haaland clause starts in 2021 and according to Bild it was 2022 lol, 75 mil. Dortmund are very smart and they still own Isak who just had a very good debut season in la liga.

Zidane style of man management is that he makes everyone feel like they can play except for a few exceptions like with Ceballos, Bale and James. So it becomes hard to tell fringe players they can leave.

It doesn’t look like people are activating themselves to go anywhere at this point, and I suspect no one wants to leave.

Has Ceballos or James ever said anything bad about Zidane?

I think they both admitted that currently, Zidane just prefers other players. Zidane told them that.

I think Zidane was frank with Bale as well, no ill will, just not part of his plans.

If a coach tells you that you aren't part of his plans, you should have a competent enough agent, to get you to a club that needs your services.

If you're content with just sitting on the bench, then that's exactly why you aren't starting.

Luis Enrique has selected his players for seleccion, upcoming games against Germany and Ukraine. It has me wondering if he is seeing things differently than Zidane. He has selected Oscar Rodriguez and Reguilion, while leaving out Ceballos and Isco. (He did select Ramos, Carvajal, Asensio).

Ceballos, at least for the moment is considered a candidate for 1st team while Oscar and Reguilion are not. Reguilion has had an excellent year at Sevilla and is being offered for sale, while Oscar who had a break out year with Leganes is also available. In his case it may be a loan rather than a sale, but it does sound like he isn’t a consideration of first team.

Plus another interesting comment of Luis Enrique said Marcos Llorente (remember him our DM who Zidane didn’t rate and is now an SS for Atleti) was one of the final exclusions. Also included in the list is ex Castilla Diego Llorente.

Selling Marcos llorrente was a mistake. Look at his skills on the ball. He could have been a very different alternative for Casemiro. Now watch Pep buy him for city or Tuchel for PSG.

How is it a mistake? He is not some kind of elite DM with elite ball skills. He doesn’t even play in midfield for atletico. Casemiro is in a position in Madrid where he is a guaranteed starter, his back up, unless he is useless as a interior, would not play much.

At the end of the day he wanted to leave so there is that.

Lol Nick, Adit, he didn’t even make it with Atleti as a DM. He went there as a DM replacement for Rodri, barely got action at any MF position and then suddenly he is playing SS replacing Felix, their 100M disappointment. It was as an SS that Luis Enrique considered him!

My point of the post was different coaches have different views on players. Let alone see something in a player that no one else has. Not being preferred at one club or coach, does not mean the player is a failure and more than likely these kids that get rejected usually end up making good elsewhere.

Maybe we can use Antonio Blanco as back up for Casemiro, or Morante. They both look really good for the youth team. Blanco has been a standout with castilla

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.