Real Madrid are prioritizing defensive signings for Jose Mourinho, and they have already landed two world class players in Inter Milan right wing back Denzel Dumfries and Trent Alexander-Arnold's old Liverpool partner Ibrahima Konate at center back.
While Real are not done on defense just yet, Florentino Perez and the other key decision makers at the club are also keen on midfield help, having never replaced either Toni Kroos or Luka Modric. Real Madrid want a technically prolific deep lying midfielder who can control the game, and while Enrique Riquelme is boasting about Spanish international Rodri, Flo seems less keen on the aging Manchester City star.
Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea and Liverpool's more box to box Alexis Mac Allister are two alternatives from top Premier League clubs, and Enzo has been just as interested as Rodri is in a big move to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer.
Real Madrid may have to go back to Chelsea
But there is still one more, highly underrated Premier League alternative on the Real Madrid radar. Florentino Perez and the club are reportedly interested in relegated breakout star Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United, though he may not be as much of a hidden sleeper as some Madridistas want to think.
Because according to a report from Diario AS, via the Madrid Zone, West Ham, despite being relegated, are so keen to keep their most prized asset right now that they want to start negotiations at 92 million euros.
Real Madrid fans will believe it when they see it, but that means Fernandes is not a whole lot cheaper than Enzo Fernandez with a "z" from the much bigger London club. Fernandes is younger with arguably more upside, but Fernandez also has a lot of potential and is also not yet in his prime at 25 - and Real Madrid do need players who can produce now, given they already have great prospects in the academy like new up and comer Thiago Pitarch.
So Real Madrid have to carefully weight Fernandes. He is a Jorge Mendes client and West Ham will have to reduce their price, so that helps. But if Real Madrid are going to splash close to 100 million euros on a midfield transfer, if Enzo pushes Chelsea enough, the Merengues could get the Argentinian World Cup winner, who is more proven from that vantage point, for around that much money anyway. Fernandes of West Ham is not such a bargain deal then.
Add us as a preferred source on Google