Major Madrid target to reject Blancos and sign for Barcelona, £146 million Premier League pair close to joining, and more - Real Madrid Transfer News: April 22, 2019

Hello and welcome to the Real Madrid transfer news and rumours for the day! Here are the top stories of the day surrounding the Galacticos!

Valdano on Madrid transfers

Former Real Madrid star Jorge Valdano has spoken out about the upcoming transfer window for the Bernabeu outfit. Gareth Bale is expected to be one of the players that could be sold and Valdano thinks that Zidane might have other priorities.

Valdano stated that while Bale did score for the Galacticos in crucial matches, he couldn’t perform on a consistent basis, which is why he could be sold in order to raise funds.

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“People still expect promise that has never been fulfilled. To his credit, he has fulfilled this promise at critical times, with trophies on the line, but, judging his performances regularly, he has produced less than expected."

Valdano added: "At any rate, Bale would be starting if Madrid wanted to cash in. Zidane has other priorities. He's looking at players for next season."

Valdano then added that the Merengues would make a mistake if they don’t sign another forward. While he thinks that they don’t need a direct replacement for Benzema, they need someone with a different skillset.

He also added that other positions need strengthening, citing the need for goalscoring midfielders while affirming that the starting striker role is well-covered by Karim Benzema, who has been astonishing this season – even if his good form's gone in vain ultimately.

“Real Madrid will make a mistake if they don't sign another striker.

“They have to sign a player with different qualities, which is not easy; they can't just sign another player to displace Benzema; it's not worth spending 200 million in that position.

“Money has to be spent in other positions, in goalscoring midfielders. The starting striker position is covered at the moment.”

Hazard and Pogba

Belgium v France: Semi Final - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba are two players that have been linked the most to the Merengues. The Premier League duo also didn’t do anything to stop the fire of rumours as both suggested that playing for the Galacticos is a dream.

And now, according to French journalist Frederic Calenge, Paul Pogba might just become a Real Madrid player in the summer. Calenge has claimed that negotiations to bring the Frenchman to the Bernabeu are at an advance stage.

Meanwhile, the same journalist has also claimed that the Merengues are close to agreeing a deal to bring Eden Hazard to the Santiago Bernabeu. The Belgian has been linked with the Blancos for almost a year now and the deal might finally take place this summer.

Hazard only has a year left on his contract with Chelsea, so the Blues could cash in on him in the summer.

They are worth a combined £146 million.

Bad news surrounding Mbappe

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And the story of the day goes to Kylian Mbappe. He is another player who has been linked with the Galacticos for a long time now but it seems like he won’t be joining this summer.

According to the player himself, he is set to stay at PSG but has revealed that he is happy for the Blancos as Zinedine Zidane is back and will be watching their games as a fan.

"I'm staying at PSG. I'm fully involved in PSG's project," Mbappe said. "I'm happy for Real Madrid that [Zinedine Zidane] has come back. I'll watch their games as an admirer,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to reports, Mbappe doesn’t plan to go to the Santiago Bernabeu and instead wants to join Barcelona in 2020 as a potential successor to Lionel Messi.

The report adds that the deal could cost Barcelona a whopping €300 million.