(Football news) International break is prime time for transfer rumours and it is even more so for Real Madrid. Los Blancos' last big transfer window was in 2019 when they spent around £290m on Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo. Every transfer window since then has seen more sales than purchases for the Merengues. Real Madrid's only big money signing during that period was Aurélien Tchouaméni for £72m but they did that to replace 30 year old Casemiro who was sold for £63.6m which makes it some brilliant business. Reports in Spain claim that the next summer transfer window in 2023 is going to be a big one for Real Madrid.
Los Blancos needs some sort of a rebuild as Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric are all out of a contract next summer. All three are likely to renew their deals but at the same time their time is coming to an end and Real Madrid need to have more than a replacement ready. Replacing Karim Benzema is going to be very difficult because Real Madrid don't even have a decent back up for him at this moment. Carlo Ancelotti has to play Rodrygo or Eden Hazard out of position in the absence of the French striker. There are rumours that Madrid are likely to go for Erling Haaland at some point but it definitely won't be next year because he will want to stay at City for a little while longer. The other area is right wing because Marco Asensio is the only natural right winger in the team. Ancelotti plays Rodrygo or Valverde in that position because of Asensio's poor form but both the players are more comfortable in other positions.
The big name being dropped since this summer is Jude Bellingham and Real Madrid have been following the 19 year old for some time now. It is rumoured that Los Blancos asked him to not renew his BVB contract so that they can go for him next summer. There will be a lot of competition as Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea are all very keen on Bellingham's signature. At the age of just 19, the Englishman has managed to impress the whole footballing world. He is one of those players that every team will be willing to sign if given a chance. The deal will easily cost more than £100m as he doesn't have a release clause with Borussia Dortmund.
Madrid will have to phase out Kroos and Modric at some point which is likely to be next season. They have the likes of Fede Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga who can take up their roles. On top of that Dani Ceballos has recently stepped up to the task and has made a case to be at the club for longer. To spend over £100m for a young midfielder when they already have 3 good young midfielders could be seen as an excess. However this isn't just any midfielder, he is a generational talent who is wanted by every big club in Europe. It will be interesting to see how things go. One thing that could work against Madrid is that Bellingham may want to return to his home country and English players have historically preferred to play in the Premier League once they have established themselves at the highest level. The midfielder's performance at the World Cup is also going to be a driving factor in whether the potential transfer happens.
