(Football news) In a shocking turn of events, strong reports claim that Real Madrid have closed the signing of Eduardo Camavinga from Rennes. The 18-year-old box-to-box midfielder has been on Real Madrid's radar for 2 years now. Camavinga's current contract with Rennes expires in June 2022 but Real Madrid prefer to sign him for a fee now rather than next year for free.

This season Real Madrid's only focus was Kylian Mbappe. The Madrid board were working on the Mbappe transfer for over 2 years but the deal hasn't gone through. Real Madrid did everything possible to sign the PSG forward but the French club had no intentions to let him go. Mbappe's contract runs out next year so there is still a strong possibility of him coming to the Bernabeu for free next year. There is still time left in the transfer window for PSG to agree on the Mbappe deal but it is a rare possibility.

Reports claim that the Real Madrid board started working on Camavinga after the Mbappe deal collapsed. The midfielder also attracted attention from PSG and Manchester United but chose Real Madrid to be his next club. The rumoured fee as reported by renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano is €31 million plus add ons. Real Madrid are likely to announce the signing just minutes before the deadline in classic Madrid fashion.

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Eduardo Camavinga is a box to box player who is elegant on the ball. The signing will be perfect for Real Madrid in the post Modric era. The Croatian's current contract ends after this season so Camavinga will get familiar in Madrid by then and be ready to take over. The Frenchman can also learn from Luka Modric in the process. Fede Valverde's contract runs till 2027 while Casemiro's till 2025, with Camavinga set to pen his deal till 2026 Real midfield looks set for the near future. Talented La Fabrica graduate Antonio Blanco is another youngster to keep an eye on.

Although Camavinga will be Los Blancos' first and quite possibly only signing in the last 3 windows, Real have been busy this summer. The club has extended contracts of key players Karim Benzema, Lucas Vazquez, Luka Modric, Casemiro and Fede Valverde. Signing Mbappe looked to be the only obsession but Madrid have made a late move for Camavinga. Florentino Perez may even look to rope in defensive reinforcements after losing Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane.