Barcelona To Battle Real Madrid For Young Spanish Star
It's not unusual for Real Madrid to take on Barcelona in the transfer market, especially when it comes to young Spanish talent. That is the case again, as the Catalan side have joined Madrid in the pursuit of a teenage defender.
The two giants are set to compete for Albacete defender Dani Bernabeu. The 19-year-old has impressed this season and could be in for a move to a bigger club next season.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have been monitoring the left-back, with Real Madrid also interested. It is said that Barca have already made an approach to express their interest in the player, but nothing more.
Real Madrid aware of Dani Bernabeu qualities
Real Madrid saw firsthand Dani Bernabeu's capabilities. The 19-year-old put in an excellent performance when Albacete dumped Los Blancos out of the Copa del Rey on January 14. He will come up against Barcelona in the next round, which could give them the opportunity to have further talks with the club.
Bernabeu has a release clause in his contract, which the La Liga 2 club has revealed must be met. That is reportedly around $7 million (€6 million), a relatively small fee for such talent.
The Madrid team have been adding plenty of youth players to their Castilla side this month, with two new faces. At the start of the winter window, they brought in 17-year-old defender Guille González, from Cadiz CF. They have also added 18-year-old striker Adrian Arnu from La Liga 2 side Real Valladolid. The latter is on loan, with the option to make the move permanent.
Even this past summer, when Xabi Alonso was in charge, he added young players to the senior squad. Alvaro Carreras, Dean Huijsen, and Franco Mastantuno were all under 22. Given the age of the current squad, it was a direction that was needed.
They are also looking to strengthen the youth setup with future potential. Los Blancos are also do not fear letting that talent leave to get more game time. Nixo Paz and others have all left with a 50% buy-back option in their contracts, which they may exercise to bring the Argentine back.
With the highest revenue in Europe and a player structure focused on early activation, Real Madrid are looking to be a superpower on the field after a disastrous 18 months.
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-031bbeb5612ca252e2129722373fa56d.png "Jordan Merritt")
Jordan Merritt is a staff writer for Real Madrid On SI. Before joining On SI, he wrote at Fansided, covering Ole Miss football, basketball, and baseball. He has also written for YardBarker, Heavy Sports, and the official EFL site. Merritt is a big sports fan, spending most of his weekends watching Soccer, the NFL, the NBA, college football/basketball, and others. Before starting his career as a freelance writer, Merritt was an Engineer for over 10 years. He lives in West Yorkshire, England, and is keenly interested in sports trading cards.
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