Real Madrid Transfer News Roundup: Los Blancos want Florian Wirtz in 2025, club eyeing Reece James, and more - May 13, 2024

Real Madrid are preparing to face Alaves at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, May 14, in La Liga. Carlo Ancelotti's team have already won the league this season.

Meanwhile, Los Blancos are planning to move for Florian Wirtz in 2025. Elsewhere, the Spanish champions are keeping a close eye on Reece James.

On that note, here are the major Real Madrid transfer stories from May 13, 2024

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Real Madrid want Florian Wirtz in 2025

Florian Wirtz

Real Madrid are planning to take Florian Wirtz to the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer of 2025, according to MARCA. The 21-year-old attacking midfielder has been in explosive form for Bayer Leverkusen this season, scoring 18 goals and setting up 19 more from 46 outings across competitions. He has already helped his team win the Bundesliga, and has taken them to the Europa League final as well.

Los Blancos are impressed with the German's abilities and are keen to add him to their roster. However, they remain focused on Kylian Mbappe, Alphonso Davies and Leny Yoro at the moment and are not planning a move this year. Instead, the La Liga champions have made Wirtz a priority for next summer, when they could finally bid adieu to both Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

Los Blancos eyeing Reece James

Reece James

Real Madrid are keeping a close eye on Reece James, according to AS. The Chelsea right-back is a long-term target for Los Blancos, although his injury record remains a concern. James is among the finest in his position when fit and has been earmarked as a possible successor to Dani Carvajal at the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, the 24-year-old has spent prolonged periods of time on the sidelines in recent seasons. He has already missed 38 games due to injury this campaign and returned to action against Nottingham Forest over the weekend. The La Liga giants will monitor him over the next season and if he manages to stay fit, they could attempt to prise him away next summer.

Fabrizio Romano updates on Kylian Mbappe's future

Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe never entered negotiations with any club other than Real Madrid this summer, according to acclaimed journalist Fabrizio Romano. The French superstar confirmed last week that he would be leaving Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the end of the season. Mbappe's contract with the club expires this summer and he is expected to join Los Blancos as a free agent.

In his column for Caught Offside, Romano added that the 25-year-old has been obsessed with moving to the Santiago Bernabeu for a while.

“The plan, as has been the case for some time, is for Mbappe to move to Real Madrid next, and I wanted to confirm that he never entered into negotiations with Premier League clubs," wrote Romano.

He continued:

“We’ve long had stories about Mbappe and the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal…still, the reality is that Mbappe never wanted to entertain any discussions with English clubs, first of all because his focus was on Real Madrid, and also because he didn’t want to create any more problems with Florentino Perez, the president at the Bernabeu, when he decided to turn them down and sign a new contract with PSG in 2022."

He concluded:

“On that occasion, Mbappe negotiated for a long time with Real Madrid before changing his mind, and so this time he didn’t want to create any problems. There’s been nothing in recent times – the most recent thing was when Liverpool asked about him in 2022, but then the financial package was absolutely impossible. Then in 2023 and 2024 there was nothing with English clubs, because his obsession was to join Real Madrid.”

Mbappe has appeared 306 times for the Parisians, registering 255 goals and 108 assists.