Two players Real Madrid must sign in January
Real Madrid are currently embroiled in a tussle for the league title with Barcelona. Heading into the month of January, the Spanish giants are two points behind their arch-rivals. Los Blancos have been in brilliant form lately but they will have to make room for improvement.
Eden Hazard had started to settle into the XI comfortably but unfortunately, he got injured. Luka Jovic and Ferland Mendy are having a tough time solidifying themselves in the team. That said, Zinedine Zidane must be cautious in the January transfer window as far as new signings are concerned.
Here are two players who should be of interest to the Spanish capital this January.
Donny van de Beek
Having shown plenty of interest in the midfielder in summer, there’s no reason why Zinedine Zidane shouldn’t pursue a move for Donny van de Beek next month.
The 22-year-old has shone at Ajax as part of Erik ten Hag’s talented young team that claimed a domestic league/cup double last season. The team also beat Real Madrid and Juventus on their way to reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Van de Beek is one of, if not the best young midfielder in the world right now. Ageing at 22, he is really starting to develop into a mature midfielder and one which could match the Real Madrid style of play.
He has developed into Ajax’s main man and he is the first name on the team sheet. Nobody is guaranteeing that he will be the first player on the team sheet at Real Madrid but given time, he could easily become just as important as the ageing Luka Modric.
The Dutch side lost Frenkie de Jong to Barcelona and Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus in the summer transfer window. Madrid need to snap him if they want to win the La Liga title from rivals Barcelona.
Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes is bound to attract attention this winter. He did attract interest in the summer but a move failed to materialize. He has started the season excellently for Sporting CP, especially in the Europa League, where has scored five goals and provided three assists [Courtesy: Whoscored].
This shows that he is ready for the step up and given Real Madrid’s lofty ambitions, signing a player of Bruno’s quality could serve Zinedine Zidane well.
Bruno Fernandes is an excellent creative midfielder who thrives in the final third. His playing style is somewhat similar to Isco’s, meaning Zidane need not adapt to his system. The Spaniard has been struggling for game time and having the two battling it out could serve them well.
Fernandes could act as the focal point of creativity in the Real Madrid setup. He is known to play incisive passes in the final third and given the hot form Karim Benzema is in, this could be the perfect move.
Fernandes recently signed a contract extension with the Liga NOS giants. That said, he would be a very expensive option for Real Madrid. However, Madrid are well known to spend big money and they must sign Fernandes in January.
