Real Madrid ponder Vinicius exit to sign Mbappe, Haaland

TOP STORY: Real Madrid eye Vinicius exit for Mbappe, Haaland deal

Real Madrid are plotting ways to land one or both of their marquee targets this summer, Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe and Borussia Dortmund‘s Erling Haaland, and one way is to raise €60 million by letting Vinicius Junior leave, says OK Diario.

The 20-year-old arrived at the Bernabeu for €45m from Flamengo in 2017, but four years on he continues to split opinion in the Spanish capital. He has scored just four goals in 33 appearances this season.

Madrid were convinced they’d landed the next Neymar when they signed Vinicius, and yet while he boasts electric speed and technical qualities, he’s not quite had the impact it was hoped he would.

The report also claims that Eden Hazard and Raphael Varane could be allowed to leave by Zinedine Zidane, with the combined fees to sign both Mbappe and Haaland likely in excess of £200m. Hazard has made just six starts this season in La Liga after joining from Chelsea in 2019, while Varane has been linked with a move away from the Bernabeu in the summer.

Madrid will face plenty of competition for the signature of Haaland and Mbappe, but they will need to streamline their squad first to even be in a position to bid for both.

PAPER GOSSIP

– Juventus are continuing to plan a summer rebuild and the Serie A titleholders are monitoring the situation of Valencia’s Kang-In Lee, according to Calciomercato. Juve’s new approach, which has seen the club looking to retain the likes of Federico Chiesa, is to acquire young talents who can be developed quickly to move into the first team. The 20-year-old South Korean attacker predominantly plays as a centre-forward but is yet to score a goal in La Liga.

– Jesse Lingard‘s performances following his loan move to West Ham United could revive the 28-year-old attacking midfielder’s Old Trafford career, according to the Sun. They report that Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been impressed with Lingard’s performances in the Premier League. Yet the Hammers are keen to make Lingard’s loan move permanent with the attacker contributing directly to seven goals in the last seven matches. West Ham believe a deal can be struck for a fee in the region of £15m-£20m, with Lingard close to running into the final year of his contract.

– Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero is set to leave the Premier League at the end of the season, according to Fabrizio Romano. Boca Juniors are interested in bringing the 34-year-old goalkeeper back to his home nation. The former AS Monaco goalkeeper was a regular feature in Solskjaer’s Europa League squad last season but has since found himself as the third-choice goalkeeper behind Dean Henderson and David de Gea.

– Barcelona are looking to secure the signature of 17-year-old Valencia U19 winger Fabio Blanco. According to Sport, the young Spanish star is attracting a lot of interest from a host of European clubs due to his comparison to Ferran Torres. Blanco is set to be out of contract on June 30, but Barcelona are optimistic of beating the competition after initial talks with the young winger.

– Chelsea are considering a return move for Romelu Lukaku should the West London club fail to sign the aforementioned Haaland to Stamford Bridge this summer, according to the Telegraph. The 27-year-old striker has been a stand-out performer in Serie A with Internazionale, having scored 29 goals in 34 appearances this season. The report stats that Blues manager Thomas Tuchel is keen on Lukakus due to his disappointment in £53m signing Timo Werner.