Business done, or so they say inside the club
Three new faces started against Espanyol on Saturday night. That, more than any statement, tells you where Real Madrid think they are.
According to Foot Mercato, Jose Mourinho is content with the squad he has. The idea of adding another midfielder or a centre-back, pushed hard earlier in the summer, has quietly been shelved by agreement between the staff and the board.
Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva all featured from the start. The Dutch full-back and the French defender got through solid shifts, with a few loose moments before the break. Silva took longer to find the rhythm of the game. Yan Diomande and Marc Cucurella came off the bench, and Carlos Espi settled it late for a 2-1 win.
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AS says the phones are still on
The Madrid daily reads the situation differently. Real, in its version, are not switching off before the deadline. The logic is straightforward: players can still leave, and anyone who goes has to be replaced.
Mourinho has reportedly told several squad members they are not in his plans, Raul Asencio among them. Late bids can also land on players nobody expected to move. Both scenarios are being prepared for.
The Arsenal problem
Which brings the list back out. AS reports that Martin Zubimendi has not been crossed off it, should a midfielder depart. The Spaniard, a Real Sociedad product now at Arsenal, is the holding midfielder Madrid have been circling for years.
Nothing points to an exit in that position right now. So treat this as a contingency rather than a plan, and one that runs into a simple obstacle: Arsenal have refused to entertain any conversation about him.
Sergio Martinez is the deal actually moving. The Racing Santander player is expected in the coming days, though for Real Madrid Castilla rather than the first team, and rival interest has picked up in the last few hours.
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