Club and coach are in agreement that there’ll be no mid-season reinforcements to the squad, although two players will go out on loan.
The transfer window won’t be taking priority at Real Madrid this January.
With a potential eight LaLiga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup fixtures to play over the next four weeks, it’ll be a month that has a defining impact on Madrid’s season – so the focus will be firmly on on-field matters.
No signings expected, but Brahim and Mariano set to go out on loan
AS therefore understands that, barring an unexpected change of tack, the club and their head coach, Zinedine Zidane, have agreed that no signings will be made. Two players who will be on the move, though, are Mariano Díaz and Brahim Díaz, with Madrid expected to offload both on loan.
The situation right now is not dissimilar to the summer. As this newspaper revealed in late December, the only player Zidane would be interested in adding to his squad is Paul Pogba, but the coach is all too aware that the club do not share his eagerness to spend big on taking the Manchester United midfielder to the Bernabéu. And even if such a deal were to happen, it would be in the close-season.
Pérez, Zidane not big on mid-season signings
The emergence of Federico Valverde has been a key factor in Madrid’s reluctance to splash out on Pogba. What’s more, club president Florentino Pérez does not have much of a track record of turning to the market in January: in his two spells as Madrid chief, he has spent just 48.8 million euros, buying only Brahim in the last three mid-season windows.
Zidane is not a big believer in January signings, either. He has faith in his squad, a message he has been at pains to retiterate in almost every press conference he gives, and has not asked for any reinforcements for the second half of the season.