Former interim Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa has just been announced as the new manager of Premier League side Fulham, following a somewhat up and down time in charge at the Bernabeu. For a young manager like Arbeloa a fresh start is exactly what he needs to get his managerial career back on track, and one of his first orders of business could be to bring in this Real Madrid attacker many fans wouldn't want to see leave.
As being reported by theMadridZone on X, Alvaro Arbeloa wants to bring Gonzalo Garcia to Fulham as the first marquee move as the new manager of the Premier League side. Former Fulham striker Raul Jimenez has returned to Wolves, leaving Arbeloa's new side without a striker, and he is eyeing Gonzalo as the man to lead his attacking line at Craven Cottage.
Real Madrid must hold on to Gonzalo at all costs
Gonzalo burst onto the scene with Real Madrid during last summer's FIFA Club World Cup, filling in for Kylian Mbappe, and managed to grab the tournament golden boot, with four goals and one assist and has managed 13 goals and five assists in total across his 51 appearances with the senior team. The 22-year-old quickly drew comparisons with Real Madrid legend Raul and frow what we saw from him on the pitch, it is understandably why.
Gonzalo was a regular substitute under Xabi Alonso, even managing to get the odd start here and there, managing to grab a jaw-dropping hat-trick against Real Betis last season. However, despite his impressive showings he somewhat lost his place once Xabi Alonso was sacked and Arbeloa came in. His minutes started becoming less and less and his production took a massive hit, only grabbing three goals and one assist during his time under Arbeloa compared to the five goals and two assists under Xabi Alonso.
Given his lack of gametime under the Spaniard it's interesting as to why he would want to bring him to Fulham when he hardly used him at Real Madrid. Maybe it's due to the lack of quality in the attack at Fulham compared to Real Madrid so Gonzalo has a better chance at being a regular starter there than he did at the Bernabeu. Arbeloa would have managed Gonzalo during his time in charge at Castilla so a familiar face would maybe be nice for the manager as he gets under way at a new club.
Gonzalo is currently valued at around €30 million, which given his age and production would be a good fee for Real Madrid to sell the striker for. Given what we've seen with recent sales of youngsters it wouldn't be surprising if Real Madrid included either a buy-back or sell-on clause in the deal should Gonzalo have a break out time at Fulham.
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