Real Madrid striker on the wishlist of Serie A club headed to Champions League

Real Madrid striker Borja Mayoral is fully expected to be transferred this summer, and notable clubs are interested.

Borja Mayoral had a quality season for Levante in 2019-2020, scoring nine goals in 36 appearances for the Valencia-based club, including once against parent club Real Madrid. He’s still a promising player who can have a breakout season with a bigger team, but his future isn’t at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid have already had a tough time giving anyone playing time behind Karim Benzema. Luka Jovic has played sparingly and is in transfer rumors of his own, while Real are expected to finally sell Mariano Diaz, who is too good to sit on the bench.

So if those two players are struggling for minutes, Mayoral will clearly have to go elsewhere. And after his most successful loan season to date, it’s time for Los Blancos to swing a permanent transfer.

According to a report from Sergio Santos and Mirko Clemme of AS, Lazio are the latest (and greatest) club to have an interest in Borja Mayoral.

Lazio were in the Serie A title race with Juventus before stumbling after Italian football’s return, but they should still seal a top-four finish and Champions League football in the 2020-2021 season. That’s a huge accomplishment for the Rome-based club, which boasts the league’s best striker in Ciro Immobile and two great midfielders in Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Luis Alberto.

Mayoral could be a great striker partner for Immobile, bringing chance-creation and technique as the hard-working striker alongside Immobile. Serie A is all about striker partnerships, as Inter Milan have been resurgent with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez.

Lazio currently have former La Liga man Felipe Caicedo as Immobile’s partner, but he is 31. His goal-scoring rate is as good as Mayoral’s with nine this season, but the 23-year-old is on the ascent and should end up being the better player.

It’s unclear if Lazio will really pursue Mayoral, but that they are on the radar is huge for Real Madrid. Villarreal are another club set to play European football with interest in Mayoral, but they will only make a move for him if their superstar Gerard Moreno leaves.