Real Madrid clear out to begin in the summer with Arsenal at the head of the queue for one of Zidane’s most trusted players

Posted by

It really does feel like the end of an era at Real Madrid.

Out of the Copa del Rey to third tier Alcoyano, a result that has been suggested is the worst in Los Blancos history, behind Barcelona in the La Liga table despite the Catalans enduring their worst start to a campaign in 33 years, and with the likes of Sergio Ramos and others coming to the end of their contracts, things could start to look very different at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Zinedine Zidane appears to be on borrowed time himself, though has shown no appetite to leave the job and will probably have to be pushed out of the club rather than going voluntarily as he did last time.

One beneficiary to an expected clear out is expected to be Arsenal, who have already done loan business with the Spanish giants for both Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard.

According to Don Balon, the north Londoners are in pole position to sign long-time Zidane favourite, Lucas Vazquez, for whom they made an approach last summer.

Their headline reads ‘El favorito de Zizou abrirá el mercado: salida forzada por Florentino, La crisis del Real Madrid empieza a cobrarse sus primeras víctimas’ which roughly translates as ‘Zizou’s favourite will open the market: Florentino forced exit, The Real Madrid crisis begins to claim its first victims.’

The wide man wants to stay in Madrid but Don Balon suggest that he also requires an uplift in salary to do so, something that president, Florentino Perez, is unwilling to accede to.

Multiple Champions League winning players with significant experience don’t come onto the market too often, so Mikel Arteta would be well advised to try and ensure any deal is completed swiftly.

More Stories Dani Ceballos Lucas Vazquez Martin Odegaard Mikel Arteta Sergio Ramos Zinedine Zidane