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Real Madrid are just days away from returning to their LaLiga Santander campaign, which has been a fairly turbulent one so far. The reigning Spanish champions have picked up only 16 out of a possible 24 points so far and have a tricky away fixture at Villarreal lined up upon their return to league football.
The Blancos are then set to travel to Milan for another challenging fixture as Zinedine Zidane is set for round two of the doubleheader against his former teammate Antonio Conte's side, Inter. They would hope to avoid an embarrassing group-stage elimination and revitalise their UEFA Champions League campaign.
Jack Grealish being monitored by Real Madrid
In what is a surprising piece of news, Jack Grealish has been reportedly scouted by Spanish champions Real Madrid ahead of a potential move. The Englishman has begun the season in spectacular fashion, having registered four goals and five assists in his seven Premier League appearances so far.
Reports from Spain have claimed that Zinedine Zidane has instructed the club's scouts to keep a close watch on Grealish after his impressive start to the campaign. The Aston Villa skipper could cost significantly more than the reported €45m that his new contract is worth after blistering displays so far in 2020/21. However, Manchester United are also in the running for his signature.
The 25-year-old could potentially succeed Luka Modric at the Santiago Bernabeu, as the Croat is into the final year of his contract and Real Madrid will have to reinforce their midfield options. Elsewhere, Isco is also expected to depart from the club in the near future, with Everton interested in his services.
West Ham eyeing two Real Madrid forwards
Premier League club West Ham are interested in signing Real Madrid strikers Luka Jovic and Mariano Diaz in the January transfer window, as per reports. The Blancos pair are both understudies to club legend Karim Benzema and have barely managed to feature so far in what has been a rather challenging campaign for the club.
As per Spanish outlet Defensa Central, Zidane has no trust in the two strikers and will be allowed to leave should they wish to. Neither of them have been incredibly prolific for Real Madrid in recent times, with Jovic in particular proving to be a disappointing signing, having scored just two goals in 32 games since his big-money move.
The report adds that Real Madrid only want to loan Jovic out, similar to their stance from the summer window when Manchester United were reportedly interested in signing him. Diaz has only featured for 14 minutes this year for Real Madrid.
LaLiga Santander clubs' wage caps reduced
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, LaLiga Santander have announced their renewed wage caps for clubs in the Spanish top-flight. The cumulative spending limit for the clubs has been brought down by a massive figure of €610m as part of the process.
Real Madrid's limit this year has been reduced by €172.5m from their previous cap and will now be allowed to splash out up to €468m. Barcelona, on the other hand, faced a significantly higher reduction in their overall cap as they have been hit with a decrease of nearly €288m on their cap of €671m from last year, leaving them with €382.7m to spend this year.
