What’s the story?
The agent of Borussia Dortmund’s central-midfielder Julian Weigl has reportedly contacted Real Madrid to make a bid for the 21-year-old. Weigl is considered the ‘next Sergio Busquets’ and his agent wishes to see him play at a bigger club than Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund.
Weigl has been excellent for the Ruhr club ever since joining from 1860 Munich at the beginning of the 2015-2016 season; Jurgen Klopp, Borussia Dortmund’s then-manager, saw Weigl’s talents and took the chance in signing him and that choice has benefited the club greatly since.
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Thomas Tuchel is a fan of the 21-year-old but should Real Madrid come in for the man, there’s little the club can do to stand in his way. With Luka Modric entering the final years of his career, Zinedine Zidane feels the German is the kind of player who can replace him at the base of Real Madrid’s midfield.
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Weigl’s contract ends only in 2021 and should Los Blancos make a move for him, it’ll only be in the summer. The Madrid club have been hit with a transfer embargo by FIFA over the signings of multiple under-age kids for their academies.
As such, they are banned from registering new players for their squad till the opening of the 2017 summer transfer window. Their ban was to include the summer transfer window but with their appeal having been accepted by the Court of Arbitration of Sport, it has been cut in half.
The heart of the matter
Real Madrid have been on the lookout for a young central midfielder capable of coming into the squad and learning from Luka Modric given the Croatian is entering the final years of his playing career. Casemiro and Isco are the current young favourites but their inability to play in such a deep position isn’t going to benefit Madrid in the future.
Weigl has played as a holding midfielder for almost the entirety of his career and has the positional sense and the awareness to continuously excel at it. He’s regularly used by Tuchel against the tougher Bundesliga sides and has been the kind of anchor the attacking side often base their attacks on.
Sportskeeda’s take
Real Madrid have been searching for another central midfielder, especially the kind who can find the right kind of pass. Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey, Manchester United’s Paul Pobga – who at the time of scouting was at Juventus, – have been regular targets. For them to sign Weigl in the summer is a high possibility. They have the funds and the kind of lure a top flight footballer couldn’t resist and should Borussia Dortmund agree to sell their man, they’ll ask for nothing less than €30 million to €40 million.
