Real Madrid transfer news: Arsenal make Navas bid, Zidane chooses his next club as he looks to bring two Real Madrid superstars with him and more - January 2, 2019

Real Madrid Press Conference
Real Madrid Press Conference

Hello and welcome to the Real Madrid latest transfer news and rumours of the day! Here are the top stories surrounding the Blancos on the second day of the new year.

#3 Brahim Diaz to Madrid

Brahim Diaz is almost set to join Real Madrid if reports are to be believed. The Manchester City midfielder apparently refused all contract extension offers from the Etihad outfit.

According to Duncan Castles, the reason for Diaz’s insistence on leaving the Etihad is the lack of game time. Madrid, meanwhile, want to use his signing to make a statement in the winter market.

"Diaz wants to get out and he wants to play so he's pushing for the move to happen and Madrid, from their point of view, want to announce the transfer and have something to show in the January window,” Castles said.


Also See: La Liga Transfer News | La Liga Fixtures


He then added that the two clubs have come to a settlement of somewhere in between €10-20 million for the player, which is why he believes that City have done a good job in getting that amount for a player whose contract expires in 6 months’ time.

"They've offered €10million as an immediate transfer fee to City, who have asked for €20m. It looks like it will be settled halfway between them.

"It's not determined yet but City are definitely going to get a reasonable chunk of money for a player who is extremely talented and who will probably be worth a lot more down the line.”

Finally, he brought up Pogba’s Bosman transfer to Juventus where United earned essentially nothing but had to buy him back for £89 million in 2016.

"But they have dodged the bullet of the Paul Pogba situation which is having one of your top academy players poached by a leading European rival for essentially nothing."

#2 Solari doesn’t make the transfer decisions

Transfer strategies are not in his hands
Transfer strategies are not in his hands

Santiago Solari took the Real Madrid job on an interim basis initially. He is not expected to continue beyond this season, so it is understandable if the Madrid board don’t deem his opinion as necessary when it comes to transfer dealings.

And according to the Argentine himself, he doesn’t have the right to speak on the strategy in the transfer market. This response came when he was asked about the future of Isco and Keylor Navas, respectively, as the duo have been linked with a move out of Madrid.

As a result, he stated that he doesn’t think about the immediate future of the two players.

"I do not consider any hypothesis about whether Isco or Keylor leave or stay," he said.

“They're all squad players. It is not for me to talk about the transfer strategy. That is something private.”

#1 Navas and Zidane

The Costa Rican is set to leave the Santiago Bernabeu
The Costa Rican is set to leave the Santiago Bernabeu

Continuing with Keylor Navas, the Costa Rican seems more out than inside Real Madrid. The former Levante star was an indispensable member of the squad that won three Champions League title in a row.

And yet, after the arrival of Thibaut Courtois, he now finds himself on the bench as an understudy to the Belgian. According to Sport, Arsenal have made a €16 million offer for the shot-stopper.

Meanwhile, Don Balon state that Zinedine Zidane has chosen to become the next manager of Juventus as the Italian giants eye a Champions League crown for themselves.

With Zidane’s arrival, Juventus will try to entice Marcelo and Toni Kroos to Turin. The Brazilian left-back had been linked when Ronaldo moved to Italy in the summer.

For more Real Madrid transfer news and rumours, visit our Real Madrid transfer news page!

Quick Links

Edited by Sripad