Real Madrid are preparing to hire Xabi Alonso from Bayer Leverkusen as their new manager to replace Carlo Ancelotti, as the Champions League elimination to Arsenal and the Copa del Rey Final defeat to Barcelona sealed the fact that a cycle has ended.
Alonso's arrival could bring with him some new faces to Madrid that he wants, too, and his top transfer target appears to be Real Sociedad defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi, based on reporting from Diario AS
With Alonso's current star player at Leverkusen, attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, reportedly only interested in joining Bayern Munich, Zubimendi became an even bigger target for the former Real Madrid midfielder. And oh by the way, Alonso actually used to be a midfielder for La Real, too.
Zubimendi was always an unrealistic transfer target for Real Madrid in one respect. He'd been resisting a transfer out of Real Sociedad for a long time, but Arsenal had been working on his transfer for years.
They were so confident that they will sign him, most reporters, including Fabrizio Romano, believed it was very difficult for anyone else to sign him. But Fab had said that Alonso and Madrid could potentially convince Zubi to make a move.
So it came as no surprise, then, that Fabrizio gave the fabled "Here We Go" to the Zubimendi to Arsenal transfer early on Saturday, confirming that the Gunners had indeed sealed their top target. Then, more information from Spain flowed that Real Madrid were never really that high on Zubi - other than Alonso.
But it is worth noting that despite Zubimendi being off the table, he was Alonso's pick, and that might say something about how he views the current crop of defensive midfielders in Madrid.
There is no doubt that Zubimendi is a top-class defensive midfielder. For years, he has been one of the best 6's in LaLiga, coveted by rivals Barcelona, because he can read the game at a high level, control the ball, dictate play, and progress from deep positions.
He is an ideal stabilizer in midfield and one of the few players of the caliber and playing style to mitigate the losses of Sergio Busquets and Toni Kroos at the Spanish powerhouses.
Aurelien Tchouameni has more upside than Martin Zubimendi
Given that Alonso himself was so highly interested in Zubimendi, would he be interested in another holding midfielder profile? What would that mean for the future of Aurelien Tchouameni or what does that say about how the Leverkusen manager views the French midfielder?
Tchouameni arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2022 after the club had won their first Champions League title of the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era, and he has since gone on to win the Champions League again.
An 80 million euro investment, Tchouameni hasn't been spellbinding every week and has suffered consistency issues, but when he's been at his best, he's indeed been the Casemiro upgrade that Real Madrid envisioned when they inked him from Monaco.
While Tchouameni isn't as steady of a hand as Zubimendi, he's better at winning the ball, just as accurate of a passer, and superior both athletically and aerially.
Tchouameni has more upside than Zubimendi, and with proper coaching from Alonso, he could become the perfect double-pivot partner for the more creative Arda Guler; the Turkish international has recently transitioned into being a regista under Carlo Ancelotti.
Instead of spending big bucks to sign Zubimendi or, now, an alternative to the former La Real star, Alonso and Real Madrid could simply stand pat and work with both Guler and Tchouameni as a team.
They should still sign midfield cover, but they could instead wait to make a big financial splash on a dream target like Ryan Gravenberch and focus their efforts on inexpensive, high-upside young midfielders. You know, the kinds of players Guler was in 2023 and Gravenberch and Tchouameni were in 2022 and 2023 (Gravenberch fits both cases).
Real Madrid are set to hire Alonso because of his ability to actually coach and nurture talent, young and old. He took Florian Wirtz to new heights in Leverkusen, revived Jonathan Tah and Granit Xhaka, morphed Exequiel Palacios into the general of an undefeated juggernaut, and gave Alex Grimaldo the boost he needed to become one of the best left backs on the planet.
So Alonso should be able to do even more with someone like Tchouameni. Zubimendi is a great player, but at 60 million euros, Real Madrid are better off believing in Tchouameni and spending that money elsewhere.
After all, Tchouameni has really come on strong at the end of the 2024/25 season when his team has needed him most.