Real Madrid have, rapidly and officially, announced the signing of striker Carlos Espi from Levante for 25 million euros on Thursday night.
Espi is a 21-year-old striker from Spain, who won the La Liga U23 Player of the Season award in 2025-26, and is touted as one of the best traditional number nine talents in the country.
This came just hours after Real Madrid sold Gonzalo Garcia to Fulham - according to Fabrizio Romano - for 40 million euros, while also retaining 30% of his rights.
All of this is officially bad news for Real Madrid's Brazilian star Endrick, who came back from Lyon in the hopes of a more important role than whatever he had before he left.
Endrick's summer has not gone nearly as well as he had hoped at Real Madrid
Things started off pretty smoothly for the Brazilian, with reports coming out about Endrick potentially having a very important role as a pseudo-winger under Jose Mourinho. It was not confirmed anywhere that Endrick would be a guaranteed starter at the club, but many reports did say that he was definitely in the club's plans, and they also wanted him to have an important role.
However, as the summer has gone on, the hope that Endrick one day gets a prominent role has become dimmer and dimmer. The first blow for him would have come with the signing of Yan Diomande from Leipzig, which essentially took away the opportunity for him to be a nailed-on starter at right-wing.
Real Madrid have spent so much money on Diomande, which would probably mean he will not be coming in to warm the bench for other stars - meaning Endrick's right-wing spot is all but gone.
Carlos Espi's signing may force Endrick to join another team
Then, there was, for a few hours, a glimmer of hope. Widespread reports came around on Gonzalo Garcia being sold to Fulham, and many thought this was the time for Endrick - he might not start up top or on the right wing, but the fact that there are now two positions he can compete for shows that he would probably play more than he did the season before.
And then, literally hours later, Endrick's potential dreams were shattered with the signing of Espi. The Spaniard's signing is still a great move, for what it is worth, as Real Madrid still needed a tall, physical striker presence that they have not had properly since Joselu's departure in 2024.
However, Endrick's size meant he was never going to be the box presence that Real Madrid would want, so the hope would have been for him to start on the right, or at least be a different kind of chaos-instigator inside the box off the bench.
Either way, it looks like Endrick could be set for a move to another team, and it will be a painful pill for fans to swallow.
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