As Real Madrid continue to gradually plan for the summer’s transfer window, they have made no secret of their interest in Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund.
Kylian Mbappe’s signing as a free agent is already taken for granted and following up on the French international with a move for his Norwegian counterpart could sort out Los Blancos’ attacking department for the next few years. Needless to say, they already have two fine young forwards in Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes already on their roster.
Haaland has a release clause of 75 million euros, but Mino Raiola’s and his father’s signing bonuses could see the move exceed 100 million euros very comfortably. And while, Haaland’s contract has a trigger, BVB may be open to the idea of swapping players plus cash for him.
On a similar note, it is very important to note that the release clause is only a reference and Borussia Dortmund may be open to negotiating a cash deal actually worth less than the release clause in an event that they see benefits in a swap deal, which Madrid could possibly offer.
Which are three Real Madrid players who can be used as makeweights in such a deal?
MARIANO DIAZ
Barring the free agents who are set to leave the club this summer, no other player is as much of a liability at Real Madrid as Mariano Diaz. The Dominican marksman brings little to nothing on the pitch and is far from a fan favourite either. In fact, the money that was spent on him in 2018 following Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure is effectively a write-off as he has been incredibly poor.
He has not helped his cause either by staying put at the club instead of choosing to go elsewhere to reignite a career in which he had a season worth 20 goals for Olympique Lyon in France, which surely would have created some conflict internally within the club about his signing in the first place. Nevertheless, Dortmund is a good route out for him and a big club for the player too.