It’s one of the toughest decisions for a club to make when some established stars start to get older: they don’t want to move players on prematurely, but they also can’t rely on them for too long and leave themselves with a huge hole in the squad when they lose their ability.
Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are still excellent players, but age and injuries have started to catch up with them. Both players coupled in the midfield will keep possession but don’t have a dynamic presence to get box to box.
It would make sense for Zinedine Zidane to bring someone in who has similar qualities but who might be able to offer more of an attacking threat too. A midfield trio of Casemiro, Kroos and Modric doesn’t really look like enough at the top level anymore.
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According to a story from ESPN, Real have held talks with Napoli about the possible signing of Fabian Ruiz. The Spaniard has impressed in Serie A and Napoli are known for selling their top players so there seems a decent chance the transfer could happen.
They go on to suggest that the potential fee will be between €80-100m, possibly depending on how he performs for the rest of the season.
The report does also indicate that Man City might see him as a possible successor to David Silva, but ESPN’s sources have said Fabian would prefer to return to Spain.
One other interesting note from the story is that they say Fabian would be a more popular signing with the current Real Madrid players than Paul Pogba would be. There’s nothing to suggest they are making a serious move for Pogba just now, but this might indicate they don’t see him as a top long-term target.
Fabian has shown the ability to control the midfield and score goals. His presence could rejuvenate the ageing Real Madrid midfield.