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What's the story?
Real Madrid have been linked with a move for Eden Hazard all summer, but it now appears that Los Blancos have turned their attention away from the Belgian and are instead interested in acquiring the services of Chelsea's fullback, Marcos Alonso.
According to reports from the Guardian, Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui is concerned about his defense following his sides 4-2 defeat against city rivals, Atletico Madrid in the Super Cup. The new manager at the Bernabeu sees Marcos Alonso as the ideal solution to his team's defensive issues and wants the Spaniard in his squad for the upcoming season.
In case you didn't know...
Marcos Alonso came through the youth ranks at Real Madrid, playing for the academy teams for nine years before earning a call-up to the Real Madrid B side. He played 39 times over two years for the feeder side and made a solitary appearance for the first team before being shipped out to Bolton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee in 2010.
After spending three seasons at the Reebok Stadium, Alonso moved to Fiorentina in Italy where he was initially loaned to Sunderland before making 58 appearances for the Florence club over the next two seasons.
His big break came in 2016 when Chelsea signed the full-back for a fee in the region of €28 million. He has since gone on to establish himself as a first choice player for the Blues, making 65 appearances and scoring 13 times in two years at Stamford Bridge.
The heart of the matter
Real Madrid's defeat against Atletico has acted as a wakeup call for Lopetegui who will no doubt seek at least one more big signing before the Spanish window closes at the end of August. The capture of Marcos Alonso would provide additional competition in the Madrid defense which was very poor throughout their Super Cup defeat.
Rumour Rating: 6/10
Due to the Premier League transfer window closing early, Chelsea would not have the ability to replace Alonso until January if he departed Stamford Bridge. For that reason, it would take a huge bid by Real or a transfer request from the 27-year-old for this move to happen before August 31st.
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What's next?
Real Madrid will likely make tentative inquiries about the availability of Alonso and take it from there. The leaking of this rumour to the press could signify a ploy by Real to unsettle their former youth player in an attempt to get him to force a move.
