B/R Football has a way Real Madrid can land a world-class defensive midfielder this summer, but it involves trading two good players.
Real Madrid won’t be able to make any major signings this summer if they want to be able to afford their top transfer target, Kylian Mbappe, in 2021. Since Los Blancos will do anything to get their hands on Mbappe – the most valuable footballer in the world – they will remain patient.
But Real can still make two kinds of moves. Firstly, they can sign an affordable young player, such as Zinedine Zidane target Benoit Badiashile. And secondly, they can go the route Juventus have taken by making swap deals.
In a recent article, Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe proposed some swap deals for Europe’s biggest clubs, and he had a creative idea for Real Madrid.
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Tighe thinks Real could send Luka Jovic and Dani Ceballos to AC Milan in exchange for center midfielder Ismael Bennacer, who has been linked to the La Liga powerhouse.
It seems like a lopsided deal at first glance, because it’s two excellent players for one. Jovic is coming off a quiet first season at the Santiago Bernabeu, but he did have a few bright moments. More importantly, he has a ton of upside, and young strikers tend to have a lot of value. Milan have been pursuing Jovic pretty consistently in 2020, too.
Meanwhile, Ceballos is no slouch either. He’s become Arsenal’s best midfielder recently and could play a key role in them winning the Europa League next season. Ceballos, as of right now, is expected to extend his loan at Arsenal one more year, though Real Madrid could try to push for a sale if the want cash.
The issue is Real Madrid probably don’t want to swap either player, and it’s for a very specific reason. Ceballos and Jovic could help the team soon, and Real usually like to sell people with an option to buy them back or, in Serie A, a right of first refusal, as they did with Achraf Hakimi this summer. They don’t like completely missing out on players.
But Ismael Bennacer could be a game-changer. He is worth a lot of money as Milan’s best player, and it’s pretty remarkable how underrated he is. Per WhoScored.com, Bennacer completed 88 percent of his passes and won a whopping 2.4 dribbles per game. But he was even better defensively, with 2.2 tackles per game and 1.7 interceptions per game.
Bennacer would be a possible heir to Casemiro and could immediately be a Real Madrid-quality player as Casemiro’s backup. Real do need to make a move in defensive midfield this summer to help Casemiro out in 2020-2021.
The problem is that Los Blancos are already targeting an even better, younger player in Eduardo Camavinga for 2021. Now, they could sign Bennacer and Camavinga so that one is a center midfielder and the other a defensive midfielder, but that’s probably not how they want to prioritize their investment in the position.
Ultimately, Real need cash this summer, so if they part ways with Ceballos permanently and sell Jovic, which seems unlikely given his importance as the developing No. 9 behind Karim Benzema, then they would need sufficient money to be tempted. Bennacer is one of the few players worth targeting in a swap deal, but with Camavinga at the top of the list, I just don’t see this as an ideal move for Real.