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What's the story?
According to emerging reports from Spain, AC Milan technical director and Italian football legend Paolo Maldini has held talks with Real Madrid over the signature of three Los Blancos players - Dani Ceballos, Borja Mayoral and Martin Odegaard.
Maldini sounded optimistic about the Rossoneri's pursuit of the three players, remarking that his trip to Madrid was fruitful and that he is optimistic about the results. Real Madrid are looking to offload as many as 13 players of their squad to make room for a host of new signings that have been completed over this summer
In case you didn't know...
Real Madrid and manager Zinedine Zidane have made aggressive moves in this summer transfer window, snapping up winger Eden Hazard from Chelsea and striker Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The purchase of young Olympique Lyon left-back Ferland Mendy, striker Rodrygo Goes from Santos and centre-back Eder Militao from Porto has meant that Zidane needs to quickly clear out the dead weight in his squad to manage the wage bills.
The heart of the matter
AC Milan, on the other hand, are undergoing a rebuilding process after finishing 5th in Serie A last season, thereby missing out on the upcoming season of the UEFA Champions League.
Lack of European action has seen several top-draw players turn down a move to the San Siro and technical director Maldini sees the move for Los Blancos reserve players as a way to circumvent this problem.
As per Sky Sports Italia and Marca, Spanish Under-21 international Dani Ceballos is chief among the players Milan are interested in, with the 2017 UEFA Under-21 Euro best player keen for a move out of the Santiago Bernebeu.
22-year-old striker Borja Mayoral is also inclined to a move out of Real, with his chances of first team action severely limited with the arrival of Luka Jovic. 20-year-old midfielder Martin Odegaard will have to choose between and apparent interest from Bayer Leverkusen.
What's next?
Real Madrid will begin their pre-season in the International Champions Cup in the USA with a match against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, slated for 21st July
