Real Madrid Close to Agreeing Personnel Terms With Alvaro Odriozola Ahead of €40m Transfer

Real Madrid are reportedly close to agreeing a deal to take Spanish full back Alvaro Odriozola to the Bernabeu this summer. The youngster has a buyout clause of €40m at Real Sociedad, and Los Blancos are said to be keen to match this evaluation. 

Real Madrid's full back situation is one which new manager Julen Lopetegui is looking to address this summer. On the left flank, Marcelo is one of the leading players in Europe in his position, and it seems as though the young Theo Hernandez is expected to take his place once the Brazilian is ready to finally step down.

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However, on the right side, things don't look so exciting. Dani Carvajal often comes under a lot of criticism in a star studded Madrid side, and his understudy in Achraf Hakimi currently seems equally inept at doing the job at hand.

There have been calls for a new right back at the club for some time now, and according to AS, the club will look to Real Sociedad's Odriozola to fix it. 

It was Lopetegui that gave the 22-year-old his first cap at international level back in 2017, and while negotiations to sign the youngster started before Zinedine Zidane had even left Real Madrid, Lopetegui's arrival has only helped fuel them.

The report claims Madrid will pay the €40m buyout clause in Odriozola's contract, but Sociedad are willing to make adjustments as to how it is paid - likely to be an initial lump sum, followed by various small instalments and clauses.

Lopetegui has a job on his hands in terms of recruitment at Madrid. While his inherited team may be full of world class talent, there is a serious age problem developing at the Bernabeu.

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Injecting youth into the team will be on Lopetegui's mind, and Odriozola would be a great start to that recruitment drive.