• March 19, 2024

Zidane making sure Real Madrid are ready for the new season

Zinadine zidane gets the team ready

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane gave all the players the weekend and Monday until 18:30 CET off so that they could rest up before the serious pre-match training begins.

The luxury of having nearly three days off was in stark contrast to the frantic work being done by club president Florentino Perez as he tries to wrap up Real Madrid summer transfer dealings.

After having got most of the clubs transfers done early Madrid must now put the pedal to the metal if they hope to complete any new signings before the transfer window closes.

With it now looking like James will be staying at the Santiago Bernabeu after Manchester United reportedly turned down Madrid’s offer of the Columbian international and 20€ million for Paul Pogba according to the Times of London.

Manchester United has made it clear that they will not consider any offers of less than £150 million for the World Cup-winning midfielder.

Marca, however, is suggesting that French Ligue 1 side Marseille are interested in signing James and that Napoli is not yet a closed-door either.

Whatever happens, Zidane is eager for Perez to get all the clubs business finished as soon as possible so that he can start the new La Liga season with all his squad in place.

Having said that, Zidane knows himself that often last-minute deals occur just as the transfer window is about to close on September 2nd.

Zidane’s main target remains Paul Pogba and he expects Florentino Perez to go the extra mile to bring Pogba to Real Madrid.

This might not be that easy now, and especially so after Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s recent comments saying he was certain that Pogba was 100% committed to Manchester United.

Red Devils, Perez equivalent, Ed Woodward is adamant that Pogba is not for sale, but his could change should they managed to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Bruno Fernandes before the English transfer window closes on Thursday.

Fearing they may miss out on Pogba this season Real Madrid has a back-up plan in Ajax’s Donny van de Beek.

Even if they should somehow manage to sign Pogba they still look likely to sign the Dutch playmaker after reports by Eurosport claim he has agreed to personal term with Los Blancos and is now just hours away from becoming a Real Madrid player.

Zidane will, of course, welcome van de Beek with open arms but it will not curb his desire to sign Pogba.

Gareth Bale remains the biggest thorn in Zidane’s side and the Frenchman defiantly wants him gone, but it’s almost impossible to find any club willing to pay his £650,000 a week wages never mind a transfer fee to Madrid.

The obvious choice is to offer Bale to Manchester United as part payment for Pogba or hope that Spur’s chief Daniel Levy would be willing to take the Welshman on loan.

Looking at exits, the coach has also asked for things to be hurried along. Madrid has four days to find a Premier League home for Gareth Bale, though that appears even more difficult than the Pogba operation as the Welshman has no great desire to leave.

We have already mentioned James Rodriguez’s situation and with Zidane having no plans for him in the team a later offer of around 45€ million would probably be snapped up.

This then leaves Mariano Diaz and the possibility of a move to Monaco. Reports suggest that he does not want to leave but given the fact he got no playing time in the U.S. might make him change his mind.