Real Madrid in Search of a New Striker

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is now reportedly looking for a new striker before the summer transfer window closes. The former Inter Milan and Chelsea boss has already strengthened his midfield by signing some quality players like Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and winger Angel di Maria.

Now, Mourinho has turned to bolster his attack by signing a quality striker who could be an effective partner or reserve for Gonzalo Higuain. Reports available in the media suggest that Mourinho is keen on Chelsea strike Didier Drogba and Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor.

Signing Drogba would really be difficult for the Portuguese because the Blues, in the first place, would not like to let someone go who was instrumental behind the team’s Premier League triumph last season. Secondly, even if Drogba is convinced to join his former boss at Madrid, Chelsea would expectedly put a huge price tag on the Ivory Coast international.

Comparatively, Adebayor could be an easier bargain for Real. The Togo international is said to have fallen down in the City’s pecking order following the arrival of Italian youngster Mario Balotelli recently. Moreover, manager Mancini handed the captaincy to Carlos Tevez- meaning Adebayor’s first team opportunities could be limited this season. The player is reportedly considering a move away from City this summer.

However, Real Madrid general director, Jorge Valdano, seems to have no intention of buying any new player; rather he wants to off-load some players from the midfield which has already been crowded. The players who could be sold this summer are Fernando Gago, Rafael van der Vaart, Lassana Diarra and Mahamadou Diarra.

However, Mourinho looks less interested to off-load all these midfielders. Specially, he wants to keep Lassana Diarra. Now, it would be interesting to see if Real Madrid officials arrange the necessary fund for Mourinho to land a new striker.

Mesut Ozil Joins Real Madrid for £12.5m

German youngster Mesut Ozil has been Jose Mourinho’s first major signing after taking over as the Real Madrid manager earlier this summer. German club Werder Bremen has revealed that they have agreed a deal worth £12.5 million with Real Madrid for the 21-year-old attacking midfielder.

Following his elegant performance for Germany at the World Cup in South Africa, the 21-year-old became a hot property in the summer transfer market. Ozil attracted the clubs like Manchester United, Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Arsenal.

Arsenal was reportedly interested in Ozil even before the completion of the World Cup, while Barcelona turned their sight to Ozil after failing to secure the service of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas. Chelsea was also reportedly in the race.

However, Real Madrid faced the toughest competition from Manchester United as United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was considering the talented midfielder as the possible replacement of the veterans like Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes.

At Real Madrid, Mesut Ozil would find his German teammate Sami Khedira, who recently joined the Spanish giants from VfB Stuttgart. Ozil was instrumental behind Germany’s progress to the semi final at this Summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Mesut Ozil’s contract with Werder Bremen would have been expired at the end of this season and become a free agent. So, Bremen, though initially reluctant, became ready to accept offers for Ozil after failing to convince him to stay for an extended period by signing a new contract.

Real Madrid: Kaka Out, Ibrahimovic In?

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is now reportedly planning a swap deal with Barcelona involving Madrid midfielder Kaka and Barca striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Both the players arrived in Spain last summer and have had a poor debut season at their new destinations.

Kaka, plagued by injury and poor form last season, has reportedly been out of favor of new Madrid boss, while Ibrahimovic, following his poor run last season, has already been linked with a move to Manchester City. However, Barcelona and Ibrahimovic both have recently rejected any possibility of switching clubs this summer.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are two rivals in Spanish league and it would be interesting to see if they come to an agreement to swap their out-of-favor players. Though nothing has been revealed by either of the two clubs, there is a possibility Mourinho would like to reunite with Ibrahimovic at Madrid.

Sweden international Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had his best time at Inter Milan before his move to Barcelona last season when Mourinho was at the helm of the Serie A club. So, the 28-year-old player could be fascinated to join his former mentor and get his rhythm back next season.

Earlier, reports out in the media suggested that Ibrahimovic would join City, if the Premier League side offered him a record weekly salary. However, now it seems less likely that the Swedish star would join City.

Well, it also seems less likely that Barcelona could be tempted to bring in another attacking midfielder in Kaka as they already have plenty of attacking options in hand including Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa. However, they might be tempted to secure Kaka’s service in order to get rid of underperformed Ibrahimovic after the arrival of Spanish striker David Villa from Valencia.

Real Madrid is currently looking to strengthen its attacking line up and Mourinho has already indicated that long-time captain Raul and attacking midfielder Guti are not part of his plan next season.

Overall, it looks imminent Real Madrid would add a quality striker like Ibrahimovic and an attacking midfielder like Mesut Ozil to their squad this summer.

Jose Mourinho wants to buy Wayne Rooney: Transfer Rumor

Real Madrid had a disastrous season this time and they are now trying their best to change the fortune for the upcoming season- even if it means buying Wayne Rooney. Their new coach Jose Mourinho is said to be a fan of this Manchester United star.

Still, there is no confirmation to this news- just media speculation. Wayne Rooney was the top goal scorer for Manchester United last season. He is also now the most important football player for England national team. The fortune will England in World Cup Football 2010 will depend on his performance. So, he is a prime target for many clubs in Europe.

Real Madrid bought Cristiano Ronaldo with £80 million at the beginning of last season from Manchester United. It was a world record transfer deal and now there is media speculation that Real Madrid is ready to pay even in the range of £90 million to £100 million for Rooney.

Jose Mourinho has witnessed amazing success with Inter Milan in the recently concluded season. There are a lot of expectations from him at Real Madrid. Real Madrid is also after Steven Gerrard of Liverpool.

It is still not clear whether Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson is ready to sell Rooney at any price. Sir Alex Ferguson has already stated categorically that he would not sell striker Dimitar Berbatov. 

Real Madrid, Barcelona Won La Liga Matches on Saturday

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona won their respective La Liga matches on Saturday. In fact, both the teams clinched comfortable victories thanks to their recently signed stars. Barcelona’s 2-0 win came at Getafe, while Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol 3-0 on the road.

Getafe was defending well until Ibrahimovic scored in the 65^th minute to put Barcelona ahead in the game. Barcelona’s victory was ensured when Lionel Messi scored the second in the 79^th minute.

Real Madrid dominated throughout the game against Espanyol. Midfielder Granero gave the visitors a lead after 39 minutes. Real was leading 1-0 at the half time. The lead was doubled when Guti scored in the 77^th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the third goal in the 90^th minutes after coming off the bench.

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Esteban Granero: My Goal is to be Regular for Real Madrid

You know that Real Madrid has spent a fortune this summer to strength their squad and their midfield has some of today’s best players like Ronaldo, Kaka, Alonso and some others. Naturally, it is pretty much understandable that clinching a regular place in Real Madrid midfield would not be an easy task for others.

However, Spanish midfielder Esteban Granero is daring to do the same task in Real Madrid. He was impressive in Real’s recent 3-0 victory over Espanyol last weekend. Granero, who spent the last two seasons Getafe, thinks that he had a very good communication with Kaka on the field.

Esteban Granero has revealed that his goal this season is to be regular for Real Madrid as much as possible and he admits that he needs to improve on his game in order to achieve that. He wants to be important to the team and becoming a regular starter in Real Madrid squad is the only goal of Esteban Granero this season. We will know if he could achieve that goal or not at the end of the season.

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