Real Madrid: 5 possible center midfield transfer targets

Boubakary Soumare

Lille center midfielder Boubakary Soumare is one of several talented young players at the quality Ligue 1 club, which once produced current Real Madrid superstar Eden Hazard.

Soumare is seen as one of the highest-upside center midfield prospects in Europe and could be a wonderful box-to-box player for a bigger club. A handful of teams have shown interest in Soumare, with Los Blancos being among them.

In 2019-2020, mostly played as a defensive midfielder, so he didn’t score any goals or record any assists in Ligue 1 or the Champions League. Soumare did make an impact on the offensive end, though, completing more than 85 percent of his passes in Europe’s toughest competition while nearly completing 90 percent of his passes in Ligue 1.

Those are impressive numbers for a deep-lying, 21-year-old center midfielder. Soumare’s passing accuracy in the Champions League also doesn’t tell the full story, because he averaged a key pass per game in that competition – more than the 0.6 he averaged in Ligue 1.

Soumare is also excellent at carrying the ball himself as a progressor, making him a more appealing box-to-box candidate for Real Madrid. He even averaged an astounding 3.0 dribbles completed per game in the Champions League.

At 21, there would be no pressure on Soumare to start for Real, so, like Donny van de Beek, he could start his career at the Bernabeu as a great backup. Soumare’s performances in the Champions League could be a sign of big things to come.