What’s the story?
Real Madrid are set to let go of 5 first team players this summer according to reports in OKdiario. Los Blancos are planning a squad reshuffle in the summer and are selling off 'dead wood' to fund moves for their top targets.
The Spanish publication reports that Keylor Navas, James Rodriguez, Danilo, Isco and Alvaro Morata will be sold by the Bernabeu side when the transfer window opens. Along with these five players, reports suggest that Fabio Coentrao and Mariano will also be off the books at Madrid next season.
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Florentino Perez is planning on Galacticos 3.0 at Real Madrid this summer and is planning on spending a lot of money. The players he has targeted are going to cost around £70 - £100 million each, and thus, he's planning on selling a few from the current squad.
David de Gea, Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappé, Marco Varratti, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Paulo Dybala are said to be the top targets of the Spanish giants this summer, and the combined cost of signing these players will be around £500 million.
The heart of the matter
Zidane is keen on signing new players next season to make the squad even stronger and has agreed to let go of a couple of first team players. The board is said to be 'in talks' with several clubs to sign their targets already.
James Rodriguez has not featured much under Zidane, and the player was keen on leaving in January itself. But he was convinced to stay as the club could not sign a replacement but will be sold off in the summer. Manchester United, Chelsea and Juventus are keen on signing him, and Madrid are ready to let go of him for €80 million.
Isco was benched by the manager for Marco Asensio at the start of the season, but an injury to the youngster forced Zidane to play the former Malaga man again. Despite impressing on all his outings, the player is said to be on the transfer list, and with Manchester City and Bayern Munich keen, he's set to be sold for around €70 million in the summer.
Danilo has not been happy at Bernabeu ever since he signed for the club and has reportedly requested to be transferred in the summer. A move back to FC Porto is on the cards for the defender but only if the Portuguese side pays €25 million for him. Manchester United are also said to be keeping tabs on him.
Keylor Navas is said to be already in talks with Serie A side, Lazio as he believes he won't be the #1 choice at the club next season. The Costa Rican goalkeeper is confident that the club will sign De Gea or Gianluigi Donnarumma in the summer to be their first choice from next season.
Alvaro Morata is the 5th player who’s on the verge of leaving Bernabeu. He's reportedly informed his friends already that he is set to join Chelsea in the summer and the move might be made official soon according to reports in Spain.
What’s next?
Madrid will try to get as much money as possible from these sales to avoid FFP bans and also for financial stability. They are keen on signing world class players and might even end up offering these five players in 'player + cash' deals.
Author’s Take
It's good for all parties if these five players leave. They are talented players who are not getting the chance at Bernabeu, and any club that signed them would benefit a lot. Real Madrid, on the other hand, will be able to fund moves for their targets are make their squad stronger than ever
