Real Madrid are reportedly pursuing a tough deal for former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte, while Carlo Ancelotti has addressed where Kylian Mbappe will play for the first time.
Real Madrid have already had a memorable summer transfer window, with Mbappe finally arriving at the Bernabeu after years of links between the two parties. In the end, the deadly forward ran down his Paris Saint-Germain contract and ended up joining Madrid on a free transfer.
Mbappe has penned a five-year contract with Los Blancos and picked up a stunning signing-on fee worth £128million.
Fellow striker Endrick has also arrived at Madrid after their president, Florentino Perez, agreed a £51m deal with Palmeiras for the Brazilian wonderkid in December 2022.
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Madrid fans are, understandably, incredibly excited to see both Mbappe and Endrick on the attack for their club. But the La Liga titans also need to address their defence after centre-back Nacho Fernandez left for Saudi club Al-Qadisiyah on a free transfer.
According to the latest reports in Spain, Perez is hoping to get revenge on the Saudis by raiding Cristiano Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr for Laporte.
The centre-half played 180 times for Man City between January 2018 and August 2023. He helped Pep Guardiola’s side win trophies six Premier League titles and one Champions League, plus a host of other silverware, but raised eyebrows when he left for Al-Nassr last year.
Al-Nassr spent £23.5m to sign Laporte but Madrid are aiming to bring him back to the elite level in Europe. Perez has long been an admirer of the player, but his interest was piqued amid Laporte’s ‘outstanding’ performances as Spain won Euro 2024.
Real Madrid transfers: Aymeric Laporte a new target
Madrid will not find it easy to land the France-born Spain international, as Al-Nassr want to keep him for at least another season and have also tied him down to a contract until June 2026.
But Madrid rarely miss out on their top targets, and Perez will try his hardest to take Laporte back to Spain, where he previously represented Athletic Club.
Meanwhile, Madrid boss Ancelotti has discussed how he plans to fit in the likes of Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo in the same team.
During an appearance on John Obi Mikel’s Obi One podcast, the manager said: “I see him [Mbappe] playing up front. The front, the attack, is quite wide – the pitch is 68 metres. We have to cover these 68 metres with the players in front.
“If I ask you where Vinicius played last season, it’s difficult to say. He didn’t [always] play as a left winger, he moved.
“The important key to the attacking players is the mobility of the players. Sometimes they can play on the left, sometimes down the middle.
“Bellingham sometimes played on the left, sometimes in the middle, sometimes went to the right. Rodrygo started most of the game on the right, sometimes I saw him playing on the left. So it’s important, the mobility.
“I want to give them freedom. They have to be able to manage the situation of the game. We played one game against City with both Vinicius and Rodrygo on the left, because we thought we could take advantage.
“We are not so worried where Mbappe will play. I think it’s true, it’s important about the mobility up front.”
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