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What's the rumour?
According to reports from Spanish media outlet AS, Real Madrid starlet Marcos Llorente is keen to make a move away from the club.
Manchester United and Arsenal are interested in the defensive midfielder while Atletico Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt are also planning to secure Llorente's services.
In case you didn't know...
Marcos Llorente returned to Real Madrid after enjoying a stellar campaign on loan at Alaves during 2016/17 season. But the defensive midfielder is yet to find his feet at the Spanish capital in the past two seasons.
Llorente has played just over 1000 minutes in the last two seasons with Los Blancos. The Spaniard has played 15 times this season, thanks to former boss Santiago Solari. His ability to read the game and block the rhythm of opponent's attacks makes him an asset and Llorente garnered praise for his performances this season.
But with the arrival of Zinedine Zidane, Llorente has again dropped down in the pecking order more so with the resurgence of Fede Valverde. The defensive midfielder is the grandson of Los Blancos legend Ramon Grosso and the great nephew of another Madrid legend, Paco Gento.
Llorente's contract will expire in 2021 and his release clause is whooping €200 million.
The heart of the matter
After enduring an abysmal season, Los Blancos hierarchy are ready to bolster the squad with some much needed reinforcements. As a result, they can offload few starlets to make way for new signing and Llorente has not earned the trust of Zinedine Zidane yet.
According to the report, the Spaniard will move out in the summer and he will have choose between Germany and England as his next destination. Manchester United and Arsenal are interest to land the midfielder while Diego Simeone is keen to replace Rodri with Llorente, if Rodri moves out.
Moreover, Frankfurt also made their intentions of signing the Madrid midfielder. But the only question remains is whether the club should loan him out or sell him with an option to buy back.
What's next?
Real Madrid will face Real Sociedad next in LaLiga on Sunday, after the former beat Villarreal 3-2 at home.
