What’s the story?
Zinedine Zidane has been left frustrated at Real Madrid as 2 of his targets ended up signing for other clubs in the January transfer window. Los Blancos missed out on Julian Draxler and Alexander Isak not because they were outbid by other club but because they were banned from making transfers in the January transfer window.
In case you didn’t know...
13 months ago, a FIFA investigation revealed that Real Madrid breached the rules on international transfers and registration of players who are yet to turn 18 years old. They were banned from signing players for 2 transfer windows – January and summer transfer window of 2017.
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Los Blancos denied such wrongdoings and after a successful appeal, their ban was reduced to one transfer window. They served the ban during the month of January and are now free to sign players again.
The heart of the matter
As Real Madrid were serving their ban, Draxler and Isak moved clubs. The German international moved to Paris Saint-German for a reported fee of £34 million. Wolfsburg were left frustrated with the former Schalke man’s attitude and with him trying to force a move, they decided to sell him off immediately. Unai Emery jumped in and signed the player for the Ligue 1 champions as they needed a fresh boost of talent as they struggle to catch up with Ligue 1 leaders, AS Monaco.
While Draxler joined PSG, Isak was snapped up by Borussia Dortmund. The Swedish sensation who has been dubbed as the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined the German side for just €10 million. The 17-year-old striker was linked with the Los Blancos for a long time and he was reportedly set to join them in the summer. But the Bundesliga side swooped in and changed his mind.
Madrid had a very bad start to the calendar year but, because of the ban, they were not allowed to sign anyone.
What’s next?
Now that the transfer ban is over, Real Madrid will go straight into the market to sign players that Zidane needs. James Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata are looking to leave the club and replacements for them would be the La Liga league leaders main objective.
The Los Blancos are also keen on signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski in the summer.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Although a move for Draxler and Isak would have been a brilliant one for Madrid, Zidane would not be losing sleep over it at all. The club have a strong squad and with no big departures happening in the winter transfer window, they are still in a strong position to win the La Liga.
