Chema Andres starred in Brighton's rampant 3-0 win over Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday, and he already looks like he fully belongs in the Premier League.
One of Real Madrid's best academy products in recent years, Chema left Stuttgart to join Brighton in the summer, with the club foregoing any control they had over the Spaniard's future.
Now, it is turning out to be a huge mistake already, as despite being 21 years old, he already looks like the perfect midfielder for this Real Madrid side.
Obviously, he has some improvements to make and developing to do, but Real Madrid could have used him in their team as a proper controller in a couple years' time, had they tried their hardest to keep a clause linking Chema to the club for a couple of years.
They also could have just matched Brighton's offer and loaned him out to Stuttgart or any other team, which would have made it easier for them to get him back to the team for a reasonable fee when he is fully developed to make the switch.
Chema would have been perfect for Real Madrid in a couple of years
Now, the problem is that there is simply no way Real Madrid can sign him. He already looks complete, and is looking like a player who would go for 100 million euros or something ridiculous in a few years' time, when Brighton sell him on.
If Real Madrid are to buy him back then, it would be insanely expensive for them to go through with the transfer, even though in this market, it might just be worth it.
Real Madrid could have made it a lot easier for themselves had they thought a little bit about the amount of talent Chema has, which is why it made zero sense for the Spaniard to join Brighton without any rebuttal from Real Madrid.
Obviously, they would have tried to change the terms a little bit, and Brighton probably wanted to keep full control - but that is also why they should have stepped in to make the transfer and then loaned him out once again. That is why they had the 50% sell-on clause.
Now, they have made 20 million euros of pure profit through this transfer, but lose out on the closest thing to Rodri since Rodri himself.
This transfer is going to go down as something which is a lot worse than the Rodri failure Real Madrid had in the summer, and just a few seasons of excellence will prove exactly why.
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