Real Madrid fans are starting to realize that the Erling Haaland transfer battle may already have been won by Manchester City, perhaps even sealed by Los Blancos’ embarrassing 4-0 loss to Barcelona. The City sporting project is simply superior to Real’s in the short term, while their financial power makes it more sensible for them to bring in Haaland.
For as much as Haaland has been presented as a bargain due to his 75 million euro release clause, the reality is that the commissions to Mino Raiola and Haaland’s father will make up the difference. Add on Haaland’s salary, and you can see why many Madridistas are fine with Haaland going to City for the next few years when Madrid already has a world-class No. 9 in Karim Benzema.
Real Madrid can – and should- use that money to sign several other players. Here are three forwards they could even consider signing this summer to boost their quality up front.
Ajax RW Antony
A while back, I mentioned Antony as the third member of an ideal future attacking third. Yes, instead of Erling Haaland. My belief at the time was that it would be too difficult to sign both Kylian Mbappe and Haaland salary-wise, while there would be a hole at RW. In this setup, Mbappe would replace Karim Benzema in the middle within a few years, and Real would have a left-footed right winger to complement Vinicius Jr. on the left.
There is no better left-footed winger to buy than Antony over the long-term, even as Mohamed Salah and Riyad Mahrez remain the classiest options currently.
Antony is just 22 and already making a name for himself. He turned edits by roasting Borussia Dortmund twice in the Champions League, and he recently scored a matchwinner against Feyenoord in the Eredivisie with a memorable celebration.
The Brazilian will be a true world-class winger within a couple of seasons, and it is best for Real Madrid to get involved soon. He could be the best player Ajax has produced in recent years when you consider how difficult it is to find left-footed wingers who can create and score. Antony can be that guy for Madrid with a combined 10 goals and 8 assists in the Champions League and Eredivisie this season.
Nice ST Amine Gouiri
If I were drawing up a list of long-term Karim Benzema replacements up top, then I would have Amine Gouiri at the top of the list. The Frenchman was surprisingly on Real Madrid’s radar last year, and while nobody seriously thought Los Blancos would sign him, it is telling that he has exploded this season after Zinedine Zidane was apparently scouting him out. (Insert comment about Zizou never missing with talent evaluations.)
Gouiri has 10 goals and 7 assists this season in Ligue 1 for a Nice side that looks like the best team in France after PSG. Christophe Galtier sure is a great coach. And he has Gouiri to thank for a lot of their success, as there are not many strikers who are more well-rounded than the 22-year-old. (Benzema is obviously one of them.)
Already a Real Madrid-caliber player as a backup, Gouiri has the upside to then become a starter for Los Blancos. Real have interest in Aurelien Tchouameni from Ligue 1’s Monaco as a Casemiro replacement, and it would be wise to look into this French forward as another potential future starter. Gouiri really is that good when you look at his footballing IQ, finishing, chance-creation, and, of course, dribbling. It is amazing how underrated certain players are, especially all-around strikers who do not play for traditional big clubs.
So don’t sleep on Gouiri. With 1.8 dribbles completed per game and 1.3 key passes per game, he is an all-action No. 9 who could contribute to Real Madrid from Day 1. Raul de Tomas is a nice proposition, but he will be expensive and is not as young or multi-faceted. And loanee Borja Mayoral just doesn’t have the same upside as Gouiri.
Leeds RW Raphinha
The final player on this list is the biggest name of them because of his success in the Premier League, but he may be the least compelling due to cost and age. But at 25, Raphinha qualifies as a young player, and he is absolutely an exciting left-footed right winger. If Real Madrid cannot get an Antony deal done with Ajax for whatever reason, then the Leeds man is worth looking into as a backup plan.
Leeds probably won’t get relegated, so Raphinha may not come cheap. But if Real Madrid come knocking, they can maybe push Raphinha into pressuring Leeds. In any case, there are already big clubs lurking, such as Real’s rivals Barcelona. Raphinha is not exactly a hidden secret in football.
So far this season, he has scored an excellent 9 goals with 3 assists, making him one of the best-scoring right wingers in football. Marco Asensio may have nearly as many goals for Real Madrid, but Raphinha is scoring in a more difficult situation and also providing much, much better dribbling and assist numbers than the one-dimensional Asensio. Raphinha would be a massive upgrade on the Spanish forward.
I mean, look at the underlying numbers. With 2.1 key passes per game, 2.1 dribbles completed per game, and 1.4 fouls drawn per game, Raphinha could add some much-needed dynamism to the right side of the Real Madrid formation, which has been embarrassing and sluggish in far too many matches this season against both big and “small” clubs.
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Raphinha is not the favorite option, but he is absolutely one of the top options and someone Real Madrid should have interest in, especially if, for some reason, his price drops. You never know what deals are out there in the transfer market. Just look at how cheaply Real got Eduardo Camavinga last summer!