Real Madrid: Eduardo Camavinga the preferred choice?

Real Madrid were linked with Paul Pogba for several months and later signed Donny van de Beek to a pre-agreed deal, but it looks like Eduardo Camavinga is the favorite to sign this summer.

Last season, Casemiro was Real Madrid’s most valuable player, furthering the distance between himself and the rest of the pack at defensive midfielder. Casemiro became almost too important to the squad, however, rarely receiving rest at a demanding position and finishing the season with a whopping 2,220 minutes played in La Liga in 25 appearances.

Therefore, it’s likely Real Madrid go after a defensive midfielder who can spell Casemiro. And there is no doubt that Eduardo Camavinga is the best defensive midfielder available on the market for Los Blancos, who continue to prioritize signing the best young players in the world.

Real have been linked to Camavinga since the beginning of the year when the player had a breakout performance in Rennes’ upset win over PSG. He’s only gotten better and better since then, joining Casemiro and Wilfred Ndidi as the best defensive midfielders in the game.

According to a report from MARCA, the behind-the-scenes support for a Camavinga transfer is “growing”, and some view him as the “ideal candidate” to replace Casemiro one day. Based on his performances at Rennes as a 17-year-old, it’s easy to see why.

Meanwhile, AS reports that Camavinga is Real Madrid’s “preference”, since they still believe signing Paul Pogba will be difficult. Fede Valverde’s emergence has made Pogba less of a priority for Florentino Perez, especially given the star midfielder’s expected price tag, though Zinedine Zidane still wants him badly.

Zidane seems to be high on Camavinga, too, who would cost significantly less than Pogba but slightly more than Donny van de Beek, whose pre-agreed deal with Real is essentially meaningless now.

Camavinga would give Casemiro plenty of rest, and that seems to be important to Zidane and the club. But Camavinga’s own ability supersedes that and makes him worth spending a potential 60-80 million euros on.

He is a rare talent, and it’s easy for rare talents with elite defensive qualities to get overlooked. Most fans keep a watchful eye on attacking prospects more than they do on No. 6’s who are up-and-comers. But Camavinga has caught the attention of Madridistas and the club itself, which have spent months monitoring a teenager on the level of Erling Haaland in terms of impact.