Julen Lopetegui was officially unveiled as the new Real Madrid boss on Thursday, and reports claim the Spanish giants are wasting little time in handing him reinforcements.
After the controversy caused by the announcement which saw him sacked as Spain coach on the eve of the World Cup, the Spanish tactician will now look to put that behind him.
As seen in the tweet below, he joined club president Florentino Perez in front of the media on Thursday, and will now begin to plan how to sustain the success enjoyed by Los Blancos under former boss Zinedine Zidane.
? @julenlopetegui
? #WelcomeLopetegui#HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/p3o3blQGfi— #CHAMP13NS ??? (@realmadrid) June 14, 2018
According to Mundo Deportivo, Real Madrid are going to waste little time in bringing in reinforcements to help him do so, as it’s claimed that they’ll wrap up a deal to sign Brazilian starlet Rodrygo from Santos in a move worth a total of €54m.
However, it’s worth noting that the 17-year-old won’t arrive at the Bernabeu until next year, so as to allow him to continue his development at such a young age in his homeland.
He’s certainly made a positive impression thus far though, scoring six goals and providing two assists in 15 appearances this season, and it has been enough to suggest that he could have a very bright future ahead of him while acting as a potential long-term replacement in the final third at Real Madrid.
That’s not the only major bit of transfer news coming out of Spain regarding the reigning European champions though, as it’s also claimed by Mundo Deportivo that Real Madrid have reached an agreement worth €75m for Roma goalkeeper Alisson.
It seems harsh on Keylor Navas who has played a key role in his side’s La Liga success and three consecutive Champions League triumphs in recent years. Nevertheless, should the deal go through as touted, he could now be demoted to second choice behind Alisson who impressed in Italy last year, keeping 22 clean sheets in 49 appearances.
At 25, with Navas turning 32 later this year, perhaps the Brazilian international does offer more long-term reliability.