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What's the news?
Real Madrid posted a video on their official Weibo account, announcing the signing of Mario Hermoso from Espanyol, before deleting it soon after. However, it is known that the club have reached an agreement for the player and the official confirmation is expected to come in the next few hours.
In case you didn't know...
Mario Hermoso is Real Madrid's academy product who spent 11 seasons with them before being sold to Espanyol, for 400 thousand euros, in 2017.
The Spanish centre-back is a versatile defender, who can also play as a left-back, and could be used as Marcelo's replacement in the absence of former second-choice Theo Hernandez.
Although Hermoso's release clause is set at 40 million euros, Los Blancos have the option to avail their buy-back clause that would allow them to purchase the young defender for just 15 million euros.
The heart of the matter
The transfer window will close tonight in Spain and Real Madrid have enjoyed a decent buying spree till now in which they most remarkably bagged the World Cup Golden Glove Thibaut Courtois from Premier League club Chelsea.
Julen Lopetegui has reiterated that he's happy with the current squad throughout the summer and, until now, it looked like Mariano Diaz would be their last signing of this window.
However, the European champions have moved quickly to secure the signing of Espanyol's Mario Hermoso. There is no doubt that the 23-year-old defender is a good investment for Real's future.
Report rating/probability: 8/10
As the signing was prematurely announced on the club's official Weibo account, it is almost certain that an agreement is in place for the player. The transfer deal is expected to be announced officially in the next few hours.
What's next?
Real Madrid have completed their squad just before the Spanish transfer deadline.
Lopetegui looks confident with the current squad, and it seems like he could do well as Real Madrid look to start a new era without their highest ever goalscorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, and their record-setting manager, Zinedine Zidane.
