Real Madrid have struck the first blow of the summer transfer window in La Liga with the announcement that England wonderkid Jude Bellingham will be unveiled as a Los Blancos star on Thursday.
His £113.5m (including add-ons) switch from Borussia Dortmund will make Bellingham one of the biggest stars in the Spanish league, and he is already planning his move from Germany where he arrived as a 16 year old. He’s the perfect box to box midfielder and has shown for the Three Lions that he has a mature head on his young shoulders.
Strong in the tackle and with the ability to make driving runs, Bellingham is a real threat in attack and a strong presence in front of the back four, and he will slot into a midfield which is in desperate need of a youthful injection, for so long relying on the excellent Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, as well as Casemiro before his transfer to Manchester United. The only problem facing Bellingham is that his favourite number (22) has already been taken by Anton Rudiger and the former Chelsea centre-back is a big bloke!
In other La Liga 2023 news, Karim Benzema has played his last game for Los Blancos but head coach Carlo Ancelotti seems unlikely to bring in a marquee replacement according to the Spanish football press. Ancelotti himself has been linked with the Brazil national team head coach job but, for now, he is focussed on his task in Madrid, to put together a squad capable of winning the 2023/24 title. But speculation that either Kylian Mbappe or Harry Kane might move to the Santiago Bernabeu seems to be cooling as Brahim Diaz has retuned to the club, following his 2022 loan move to AC Milan; and Ancelotti has hinted he may make a bid for Espanyol’s veteran striker Joselu.
Real Madrid thought they would sign Mbappe last summer but the Frenchman made a U-turn and Los Blancos will wait for him to make the first move if, indeed, they remain interested.
Catalans are cutting their cloth carefully
The early La Liga 2023 betting odds rate Los Blancos as marginal favorites to wrestle the title back from Catalonia, with the Blaugrana hot on their heals. But champions Barcelona have already cut their wage bill to 530m Euros, from its figure of 656m last season, and they will continue to try to slash their wage bill to help them comply with financial fair play rules. The big reduction so far has been made following the departure of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba and now it seems Samuel Umtiti, Clement Lenglet and Sergino Dest could be on their way out of the Camp Nou.
Centre-back Umtiti has been unlucky with injury in his time with Barcelona, suffering a serious knee problem, but he’s a high earner and the Blaugrana may be willing to let him go in a cut price move, with his former club Olympique Lyonnais close to agreeing a deal to take him back to Ligue 1. Umtiti’s France team-mate Clement Lenglet has been on loan at Tottenham Hotspur where few defenders can be proud of their campaign as Spurs shipped 63 goals in 38 games. Barca are looking for a fee of around £10m for Lenglet and a similar amount for wing back Sergino Dest, who had a decent world cup with USA but hardly appeared during his loan season at AC Milan.
Last week my SBOTOP colleague reported that Blaugrana legend Lionel Messi will not be returning to the Camp Nou, instead heading for the USA and, while that’s disappointing news for Barca fans, it will make balancing the books a little easier. The club might resort to using the strategy employed last summer when signing defender Jules Kounde from Sevilla. The France star was not registered to play in the first two games of the campaign, and appeared in the third match of the season. Barca might use that tactic again and they will also be shopping wisely; recent reports suggest head coach Xavi is set to make an offer for Feyenoord’s highly rated 22 year old right back Lutsharel Geertruida. He is already a Dutch international and has starred for Feyenoord in domestic and European competition over the past two days.
Athletic Bilbao defender Inigo Martinez will arrive on a free transfer while Senegalese defender Mikayil Faye is set to sign for a 5m Euros fee from the Croatian league.
Barca are shopping carefully but I’d back Xavi to make it work.
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