Reports: Real Madrid looking to bring in €60 million ex-Barcelona star to replace Kovacic

What's the story?

According to AS, Real Madrid are looking to bring in ex-Barcelona star, Thiago Alcantara, to fill in the spot that Mateo Kovacic has left vacant after finalising his season-long loan deal to Chelsea yesterday.

Kovacic's departure coupled with the Modric transfer saga has put Madrid in a rather desperate position to bring in a quality midfielder this summer. Apart from Thiago, Madrid are also thought to be showing an interest in Juventus playmaker, Miralem Pjanic.

In case you didn't know..

Yesterday, BBC announced that Chelsea have been successful in signing Mateo Kovacic from Real Madrid on a season-long loan deal. Almost simultaneously, Thibaut Courtois cemented his dream move back to Madrid.

Additionally, Golden Ball winner and Real Madrid's engine, Luka Modric, has been linked with a move away from the club this summer. It's thought that the midfielder wants a new challenge and hopes that his contributions to the club will allow him to secure a move away from it in an amicable manner.

He's been strongly linked with a move to Inter Milan. However, Real Madrid president has made it quite clear in his interviews that Modric is not for sale.

The transfer window is an unpredictable entity hence, it would be unwise for Real Madrid to not have a contingency plan in place.

From today's reports, it looks like a contingency plan has been shaped. Real Madrid are going to be looking to beef up their midfield this summer and the two primary candidates that they have targeted are Thiago Alcantara and Miralem Pjanic.

The heart of the matter

Real Madrid need midfield reinforcements this summer; after losing Ronaldo and now Kovacic, the midfield needs some serious boosting.

However, Bayern Chairman Karl-Heinz Hummennige made a rather interesting statement in an interview conducted by 100% Bundesliga yesterday: "Right now we're seeing whether any players want to leave. We have nine players [in the position] and only three or four spots to go around..."

Bayern Munich have an option to make James' move from Real Madrid permanent for a fee of €42 million. That leaves Bayern well-stocked in the midfield. James has enjoyed a spectacular spell at Bayern and it's highly likely that come next year, Bayern are going activate the €42 million buyout clause that was a part of his two-year long loan deal.

The James deal makes things a little bit interesting for Real Madrid. Bayern value Thiago at €60 million. Can Real Madrid use the James deal as a bargaining chip somehow to bring Thiago's valuation down? Maybe, we can just wait and see!

Rumour Rating: 5/10

There are two major barriers that are standing between the completion of this deal. Who do Real Madrid really want Pjanic, Eriksen or, Thiago? The other possible problem will the La Masia graduate want to move to the Santiago Bernabeu?

What next?

It's going to be interesting to see how Real Madrid go about this. If history is something to go by, money has never been an issue for Real Madrid. Neither has convincing a player to join them. Who they want, they get.

So who do they want? That's the real question. And hopefully, they can hold on to Modric for another season at least.