What’s the story?
Real Madrid are yet to open their account in the ongoing transfer market but the La Liga champions have already seen the departure of 3 first-team players namely Pepe, Mariano Diaz and Diego Llorente along with two Castilla players. And it appears that the Santiago Bernabeu outfit are set to witness the sale of another player.
Manager of Bundesliga side Freiburg, Christian Streich, has confirmed that Real Madrid defender Philipp Lienhart is set to sign for the Schwarzwald-Stadion outfit. Speaking in an interview with Sky Germany (via ESPN), Streich said: "It will work, and that's great. He's an Austrian U21 player who has been at Madrid for some time and learned a lot there. He'll join us highly motivated. Those are the right ones for us, those who still must and want to learn a lot."
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In case you didn’t know…
Pepe left the Santiago Bernabeu outfit when his contract came to an end earlier in the summer, bringing an end to his 10-year long spell with the club – although he is yet to sign for another club, having been heavily linked with Paris Saint-Germain. Forward Mariano Diaz signed for Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyon for a deal believed to be in the range of €8m, while defender Diego Llorente joined fellow La Liga side Real Sociedad for €6m.
Apart from these, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane’s son, Enzo Zidane, has completed a permanent move to Alaves, while Fede Valverde has joined Deportivo la Coruna on a season-long loan.
The heart of the matter
Philipp Lienhart signed for Real Madrid Castilla in 2015 from Austrian club Rapid Vienna. The 20-year-old defender has since established himself as a key member of the Castilla team and was on a few occasions called up to train with the first-team. The Austrian Under-21 international made his Real Madrid debut in a 3-1 win over Cadiz CF in a Copa del Rey clash back in December 2015 and that remains his only first-team appearance till date.
What’s next?
Real Madrid have a habit of letting their youth players leave for smaller clubs where they are guaranteed to get good game time and then, once they develop, Los Blancos cherry pick the best out of them. It is for this reason that the Santiago Bernabeu outfit inserts buy-back clauses in the contract of almost all youngsters that they sell.
Author's Take
The move makes sense for Philipp Lienhart, who is not going to get game-time in Real Madrid’s first-team anytime soon with the likes of Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Nacho already in the first-team. The move allows the 20-year-old to further his career away from the media spotlight that he would face at Madrid and return to the club as an established name in the world of football.
Also Read: 5 teenagers who succeeded at Real Madrid
