Real Madrid has a smart team managing La Fabrica. They configure the most intelligent futures for those they consider the best to benefit the club in the future. Nico Paz, for example, is attracting attention from around the world, and Real Madrid has a cheat code by which they can get him back next season for a transfer fee worth peanuts.
In July, Los Blancos traded another Castilla standout, Chema Andres, to VfB Stuttgart, with the latter paying a 5 million transfer fee for the player. But just as with all other big transfers from the academy, Real Madrid inserted certain favourable clauses in the sale agreement, and looking back at it, these almost always prove to be masterstrokes.
According to Diario AS, Real Madrid will have to pay only about 13.5 million Euros to bring Chema back in 2026. That seems like a very viable option considering how good the Spaniard has been in Germany so far. He has proved himself not only as a good player but as a leader in the Stuttgart locker room, and there is little reason not to bring him back.
Real Madrid now face a no-brainer €13.5m transfer decision
Chema fits the profile of a modern-day defensive midfielder and plays a role much more nuanced and complex than the traditional role of that position. He is the kind of player who retains the ball for you in the toughest positions and initiates build-up from the back.
According to the AS report, he also presents himself as an exemplary leader in the German side, always voicing his aggression and authority from the back, guiding his teammates with maturity and a deeper understanding in possession.
Bringing Chema back to Madrid makes even more sense when you look at how coveted he is. Reports from England suggest that Manchester City and Arsenal are interested in the midfielder’s services and could approach Stuttgart with an offer for his signature.
But Real Madrid have the upper hand because they have the right to buy him for the meagre 13.5 million investment, while other clubs will have to match his market price, which should be anywhere above what Real Madrid have fixed for him.
Moreover, his signing could save some hectic shifts for Aurelien Tchouameni, who is already burdened with a shuffle between the midfield and the defense. And if we look deeper, Chema could be a more natural structural holding midfielder in the centre than Tchouameni, who is undoubtedly good there but can be better as a more hybrid eight who steps higher and carries the ball through the midfield.
With about 19 tackles and 16 interceptions in 12 appearances across all competitions, this is a no-brainer deal that Madrid must not let go. Chema stands at a massive 193 cm in height, owing to which he has won 28 aerial duels for his team. That is an incredible number that makes the potential of this deal even more lucrative.
His partnership with Nico Paz makes so much sense that these signings should only be a matter of time.