It’s not wrong to bluntly state that Real Madrid has an aging core. That core includes the likes of legendary midfielders like Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro. And with each day it looks more likely that Isco would leave this summer. And there are still doubts over Martin Ødegaard’s availability next season, as everything doesn’t look good between him and Zinedine Zidane, who himself might end up leaving Real Madrid.
Real Madrid does have Fede Valverde in their midfield ranks, who has already proven himself in the last two to three seasons. Antonio Blanco and Sergio Arribas have been on the rise, but there is a need for an additional midfielder in the squad, who can be useful for rotation, and help the team during an injury crisis. (something which can be always expected at Real Madrid)
They would have to look at all the possible options for the midfield. Houssem Aouar has been the latest midfielder to be linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer, while another French midfielder Eduardo Camavinga has been continually linked to the club, since Fall 2019.
With the club facing huge losses due to the pandemic and reduced transfer budget, Real Madrid can actually look for some cheap alternatives from their own league There are a lot of young and upcoming talents in LaLiga, and they can be a smart signing for the club. So let us have a look at the five talented midfielders in LaLiga, who can be monitored this summer.
Bryan Gil
This highly talented 20-year-old player has been the talk of Spain this season. He is seen as one of the best Spanish prospects this season, and he had a wonderful season for Eibar. Even Luis Enrique was highly impressed by Gil, and he called him up to the Spanish national team in the last international break and gave him his first-ever international cap.
Bryan Gil is of small stature, but he is an electric player. He is a fantastic dribbler and has a great left foot. He doesn’t have the experience of playing in the role of a central midfielder, but he can play as a wide midfielder or winger, preferably on the left, and play as an attacking midfielder as well.
The man from Barbate has 3 goals and 4 assists to his name this season in all competitions, but these numbers don’t justify his talent. With Eibar likely to be relegated this season, he might end up returning to his parent club Sevilla, who have always seen Gil as one of their most-prized assets, and sent him on loan for him to gain some valuable experience.
All of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and PL clubs like Arsenal clubs have been monitoring the young and talented Spanish international. But as a club that will be playing UEFA Champions League next season, Sevilla has been strong and adamant in his case. There have been rumours of them raising his 50 million release clause to 100-150 million. And reportedly Julen Lopetegui is keen to have him in his plans next season.
So it does look difficult to land him at Real Madrid. But if the club looks to talk with him and come to an agreement even if there’s a little chance, it’s going to be interesting. Not to forget that Gil is a talent nobody would want to miss out on!
Brais Mendez
The next name on the list is another Spanish player Brais Mendez, who has been one of Celta Vigo’s key players. He had a great 2020-21 season, with 8 goals to his name. The 24-year-old midfielder has been deployed as a winger by Celta in some matches, one of the key factors behind his goalscoring form in this season.
Though he has been successful as a winger this season, he came into the limelight as a midfielder back in the 2018-19 season. He was simply sensational back then, and he had a great run of games in 2018 which led to an international call-up from the Spanish National team. He had in fact scored on his international debut. But he had a disappointing campaign in 2019/20, as a result of which he was dropped subsequently. But now he is back into form and he’s making the headlines again.
Brais is a versatile player with an excellent left foot and skill-set, which enables him to play in either the central midfield, wide midfield or the wings. He has been occasionally used as a second striker as well, thanks to his calm and cool finishing. Real Madrid hasn’t had a left-footed midfielder of late, and Brais can be of huge help in that aspect.
There was speculation about his continuity at the Galician club till last year, as his old contract was about to expire in 2021. But he had renewed with Celta recently, extending his contract to 2024. This makes it difficult for a transfer, but if Real Madrid identifies Brais as a possible transfer target, they would try hard for him. And for any player, it would be definitely difficult to say no to Real Madrid.
Mikel Merino
The next player on the list is Mikel Merino, the 24-year-old Real Sociedad midfielder, who has been one of the best in his position in Spain. Mikel Merino is a left-footed player like the other two players mentioned before him, but he plays deeper than the other two, and he is a central midfielder.
Needless to say, Mikel Merino has been one of La Real’s most crucial players. He is used to playing as a midfielder in different systems, including that of a pivot in a 4-2-3-1 or as a right-sided central midfielder in a 4-3-3. The strongly built Spaniard is a great box-to-box player, and he has been one of the mainstays of the national team managed by Luis Enrique.
He is a quality player with excellent on-the-ball skills and a brilliant passing range. And this made Real Sociedad tie him down with a new contract until 2025, with an increased release clause of 60 million, to keep the top clubs who’re interested in him at bay. And the interest from the top clubs is obvious because he has been superb for La Real ever since his move from Newcastle United back in 2018, which cost them just 12 million.
Unfortunately, Real Sociedad hasn’t been able to qualify for UEFA Champions League for the next season. Mikel Merino might be gutted with that because he would love to play in the top competition of Europe like any other player does. Maybe Real Madrid can capitalize on that and make a move to talk with him about a possible move, though it is highly unlikely that La Real would be interested in letting go of one of their best players.
Carlos Soler
Carlos Soler has been one of Valencia’s best players this season, after their massive squad overhaul in the summer of 2020. He has been one of the few starters that chose to stay, and he has repaid his faith to his boyhood club by scoring 10 goals and 8 assists this season. And those 10 goals include a hat-trick of penalties against Real Madrid.
The 24-year-old Spanish player is primarily a central midfielder, who is a great controlling influence in the centre of the park. His work rate is great for a midfielder, and his distribution skills are wonderful. He also has the ability to score some thunderbolts from distance using his fantastic right foot, and he also has a tendency of getting into goalscoring positions by arriving late onto the edge of the box, looking for cutbacks. He has recently scored a screamer against FC Barcelona, which could be one of Valencia’s best goals this season.
Soler is a talented player, and his profile has drawn the attention of some top clubs, including Arsenal. Arsenal has been continually linked to Soler for a year, and he might actually end up leaving Valencia. And it wouldn’t be surprising if Valencia looks to sell Soler for a low fee since their owner Peter Lim has capitalised on every opportunity to sell a player and get some money to cover up the losses faced by their club during the pandemic.
A player with the skill-set of Soler’s would be a great fit at Real Madrid, and he can be a realistic target for the club. So far there hasn’t been any interest reported from a Spanish side, but if Real Madrid looks to sign Soler, the player would definitely be drawn towards the thought of playing for Real Madrid and playing in the UEFA Champions League.
Alberto Soro
The final name on the list is Alberto Soro, the 22-year-old Granada playmaker, who is (technically, yeah) a former Real Madrid player. Soro was signed by Real Madrid from Real Zaragoza in the summer of 2019, for a sum of 2.5 million euros, and spent the 2019-20 season on loan at Zaragoza. He actually had an impressive season for Zaragoza in Segunda B.
But in the summer of 2020, he had to be sold to Granada for a sum of 4.5 million euros, as the club thought he was surplus to their requirements and sold him to cover up a part of the losses suffered by Real Madrid during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though Soro found it hard to get minutes at Granada and accumulated just 974 minutes all season, he has been excellent in the limited playing time he got. In those 974 minutes, Soro has scored 3 goals and claimed 6 assists in all competitions.
Soro is a left-footed playmaker who can play through the middle as an attacking midfielder, or from the right as well. He is a pacy dribbler who can guarantee a great final ball at the end, with Soro having a habit of making some crisp through balls. He is a great creative player, and he wouldn’t have been bought by Real Madrid if he wasn’t much talented.
He may not be an immediate solution to Real Madrid, because e hasn’t completely proven himself yet, and there’s still time for him to develop. But he can be one for the future. And a genius like Florentino Perez wouldn’t let a youngster out without including a buyback clause or retaining the rights of the player. I Hope Soro develops into a great player at Granada and is capable of giving Real Madrid a headache in the future.