Report Claims Real Madrid's Marco Asensio Has Demanded Transfer With Man City on Red Alert

Real Madrid's talented young attacking midfielder Marco Asensio has reportedly soured the party mood at the club following their impressive 3-0 win over Juventus in Turin by asking for a summer move.

According to Spanish rumours site Diario Gol, the 22-year-old has grown tired of his lack of first team opportunities, and although he has been assured that he can be one of Madrid's star players in the future, he is not willing to wait for the opportunity.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is known to be an admirer of the player, and will no doubt be following developments closely in advance of a potential summer offer.

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Although Asensio recently played the full 90 minutes in Spain's 6-1 crushing of Argentina, his playing time at Madrid has been limited all season. He has made just 15 starts this campaign, coming on 10 times as a substitute, and with rumours of Madrid lining up offers for other attacking midfielders such as Eden Hazard and Mohamed Salah, Asensio may feel that his best option would be to move on in order to find consistent first-team football.

He was only brought on late on in the Juventus win, and this rejection by manager Zinedine Zidane could well have been the final straw for Asensio. 

The Majorcan-born player has been at Madrid since 2014, and after loan spells with Mallorca and Espanyol he scored on his first competitive appearance for Madrid in the 2016 win against Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup. Since then he has gained a reputation as one of the brightest young prospects in Europe, and it will be interesting to see whether or not Madrid use him to his full potential for the rest of the season.