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What’s the story?
The generally reliable Marca are reporting that Real Madrid have beaten off stiff competition from Barcelona to seal the signing of Spanish midfield sensation Dani Ceballos. The paper reports that Madrid will likely announce the signing next week and that Madrid and Ceballos’ current club Real Betis have agreed an 18 million Euro deal and have signed him on for six years.
He is likely to make the squad for the United States trip alongside fellow Spanish U-21 sensations Marcos Llorente (returning from loan with Alaves), Jesus Vallejo (returning from loan with Eintracht Frankfurt) and, of course, Marco Asensio. If he does complete the move, he will be Real Madrid’s second signing of the summer transfer window after they earlier got Theo Hernandez to move across town from great rivals Atletico Madrid.
In case you didn’t know
Ceballos lit up the U-21 European Championship with commanding displays in the middle of the park as he guided La Furia Roja’s U-21 outfit to the final (which they lost to Germany) and has been one of the few shining lights in another despondent season for Real Betis in La Liga, where they finished 15th, a good 11 places below hated rivals Sevilla. Ceballos has an interesting background with Sevilla – the Andalusians released him as a youngster in 2009, as he was suffering from chronic bronchitis.
Their loss has turned out to be their cross-town neighbour’s gain and now with his sale, Betis will get a much-needed infusion of funds as they look to make their way up the La Liga table.
The heart of the matter
It had been a wild case of Madrid-based newspapers saying that Real Madrid were favourites to sign the lad stating many reasons including the pressure from family and friends, while Catalan papers constantly harped on the youngster’s supposed inclination towards Barcelona’s “style of play”. This now makes Ceballos arguably the third ‘big’ name Spanish wonder-kid to choose Real Madrid over Barcelona despite both sides evincing equal interest – the other two being Theo Hernandez (from Atletico Madrid) and Marco Asensio (from Mallorca)
Video
For those who haven’t seen Ceballos in action:
The lad can play, alright
Author’s take
Real Madrid are in the process of building a solid Spanish core to their team – something they are not exactly famed for doing. With youngsters such Kiko Casilla, defenders Diego Llorente and Jesus Vallejo, midfielders such as Marcos Llorente and now Dani Cabellos, as well as forwards Lucas Vazquez, Asensio and Alvaro Morata (although whether the latter will stay for next season is questionable) and that might just be the secret to unlocking the kind of sustained domestic success that has eluded them for quite a while now.
