Real Madrid interested in young Manchester City target

Real Madrid are assembling their list of young targets for the 2020 summer transfer window, and River Plate center back Lucas Martinez Quarta appears to be on their radar.

Although young center back Eder Militao had a great first season with Real Madrid in 2019-2020 after being purchased for 50 million euros from FC Porto, that hasn’t stopped the Brazil international from being linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu.

Militao should not be sold and has a huge amount of potential, but Real Madrid could still be interested in signing another young center back. They need primary goal-scorers and usually target young attacking players, since young attacking players are better investments.

However, a youth movement on defense couldn’t hurt, as Real can’t guarantee how many more years Sergio Ramos has left as a world-class center back.

According to a report from Calciomercato, Real Madrid are showing interest in a young center back who is being heavily targeted by Inter Milan and has also been linked to Pep Guardiola‘s Manchester City.

Lucas Martinez Quarta is coming off an excellent season for River Plate in the Superliga Argentina. Per WhoScored.com, Martinez Quarta averaged 55.5 passes per game with 1.8 tackles per game and a whopping 1.7 interceptions per game.

An excellent reader of the game, the 23-year-old defender has good upside and can immediately contribute as a backup on Real Madrid. The report from Calciomercato assumes Militao would be sold and Martinez Quarta would compete for playing time behind Ramos and Raphael Varane, but it would be presumptuous to sell Militao or insinuate that Martinez Quarta is the better player.

Martinez Quarta looks like the best fit for Inter on paper, but City could also be an intriguing option, given the comfort the River Plate star has on the ball as a passer.

Per Calciomercato, Real Madrid are said to be Inter’s “fiercest rivals” for the signature of Martinez Quarta, and Los Blancos do generally sign their top young targets. The allure of playing at the Santiago Bernabeu is quite strong.

However, it’s worth noting that another La Liga side, Valencia, has been linked to Martinez Quarta. Inter’s main title rivals in Serie A, Juventus, are also reportedly interested in the highly-regarded River Plate center back.