Real Madrid News Roundup: Star midfielder faces COVID-19 scare, Blancos enter the race for Gunners target, and more — 13th November 2020

The speculation surrounding Real Madrid continues to grow in the ongoing campaign after a string of poor results across both the domestic and continental fronts. The Blancos are just one LaLiga Santander loss away from matching their number of defeats from their title-winning campaign from last year. They are currently without several star players including Eden Hazard, Casemiro, Fede Valverde, and others.

As the international break gives them a few days to recuperate and go again upon the return of domestic football, here, we take a look at some of the latest Real Madrid news.

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Real Madrid star Luka Modric faces COVID-19 scare

Luka Modric in action for Real Madrid

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric faces the prospect of contracting COVID-19 while on international duty. The 35-year-old was in direct contact with Croatian teammate Domagoj Vida, and although the defender tested negative during the initial round of testing on Monday, returned a positive result on Wednesday. Vida posted an image on his social media accounts with Modric just a day before testing positive.

They were suspicious of Vida being positive at half-time during their clash against Turkey, and the centre-back was subsequently subbed off from the field. The Croatian Football Federation said on the matter;

"After all players and coaching staff tested negative on Monday for the match with Turkey, the test for the match with Sweden was held on Wednesday morning. The HNS received the test results after midnight local time and they revealed that Domagoj Vida was positive."

Should Modric test positive for COVID-19, he would be the third Real Madrid player to have done so in recent weeks, with Casemiro and record signing Eden Hazard both having recently returned positive results. The Brazilian and the Belgian missed were absent during their 4-1 defeat to Valencia.

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Blancos veteran Toni Kroos admits club must improve

Toni Kroos delivered an honest assessment of their campaign so far

Toni Kroos has admitted that Real Madrid need to improve in terms of their consistency this year if they are to win any trophies. Despite winning LaLiga Santander as recently as last year, the Blancos appear to be in a crisis, with losses against the likes of Cadiz and Valencia.

Speaking on his side's season so far, the German remarked;

"Well, in the end, it is true that we [Real Madrid] are missing something. It is not a secret. Everyone can see it. We do not lack a bit... we need to be constant. If you see the results, there are two good, one bad, two good, one bad. You have to do better. You watch some games, and you realise that it can be done better."

Kroos continued,

"Against Barcelona, first part against Inter or someone else. Clearly, we can improve, but we lack continuity. If we did well against Barcelona, we also have to play like this against Cadiz or Shakthar [Donetsk] at home. There is a lot of difference. Sometimes very good and sometimes very bad. We must improve if we want to win something."

Real Madrid currently sit in fourth place after playing eight games in LaLiga so far, and are third in their UEFA Champions League group with just four points out of a possible nine.

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Real Madrid set to rival Arsenal for Hungarian star

Real Madrid are reportedly eyeing a move for RB Salzburg star Dominik Szoboszlai on the back of his heroics for Hungary in the qualification for UEFA Euros 2022. The midfielder stole the show with a last-gasp winning goal to fire his side to the Euros, which has essentially seen his stock rise even further.

🇭🇺 Dominik Szoboszlai has been directly involved in 16 goals (7 goals & 9 assists) in 16 games for club and country this season 🔥🔥🔥#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/E2XvkYhAwm

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) November 13, 2020

While Arsenal have been known to be admirers of the 20-year-old, reports suggest that Real Madrid have also been impressed with Szoboszlai and will look to sign him in the near future. The Salzburg star is valued at a figure of £23m and could join the likes of Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Vinicius Jr, and several other young 'Galactico' signings at the Bernabeu.

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