After winning the UEFA Champions League, Supercopa de Espana and La Liga last season, Real Madrid further strengthened their squad with the addition of Kylian Mbappe. As they plan on entering the Galactico era again, there are not many signings they need at the moment but they could do with a few outgoings to streamline the squad.
Let us have a look at the 5 players Real Madrid should sell in this transfer window:
#5 Juanmi Latasa
Juanmi Latasa arrived in Madrid from Barrio del Pilar’s Union Adarve when he was just a 16-year-old youngster. Initially presumed to be among the many promising strikers in the Castilla side of Real Madrid, Latasa did have a satisfactory stint for the junior team, especially at the Primera Division RFEF in the 2021-22 season, where he scored 12 goals in 30 matches.
But since then, Latasa’s growth has been completely stagnant. Los Blancos handed him his senior debut during a 1-1 draw against Cadiz during the same season, and as usual, the next step was to send him on loan to La Liga clubs. Accordingly, Latasa was sent out to Getafe in the 2022-23 season, but he could only score 2 goals in 21 matches and did not get any assists either.
Despite his poor form, Getafe extended his loan deal for another season. Latasa was comparatively better in the last season, where he scored 5 goals in 35 matches. But considering he played 1793 minutes, he has a minutes per goal figure of nearly six hours, which is not acceptable for a striker in any La Liga team.
He is also nearing his mid-20s, so one might not accept superb growth in his career either. Real Madrid already has plenty of attackers in their team and Latasa might hence be surplus to requirements.
#4 Jesus Vallejo
After battling injuries & mental health issues, Vallejo’s time in Real Madrid could be over
Jesus Vallejo’s case is a lot like that of Latasa, with the only difference being while Latasa still has time to somehow rescue his Real Madrid career, it might be too late for Vallejo who is now 27 years of age.
The central defender was not a Real Madrid Castilla graduate, but he was signed from Real Zaragoza after turning 18, for a fee of €6 million. Nine years ago that fee was pretty sizeable for a player who had just become an adult, but Vallejo was considered to be a great buy as he was a regular in the youth teams of Spain.
Since then, Real Madrid has carried out plenty of experiments with Vallejo. He has been sent out on loan six times, to four different clubs. He has also made 31 appearances for Los Blancos and has even scored a goal. But Vallejo has never been able to find his feet anywhere.
He was loaned to Granada last season, but it was nothing short of a nightmare. Vallejo first had a lower leg fracture, which kept him out of the game for three months. He then had another injury, and despite recovering from that, has not been in action since January.
The Spanish media reported that Vallejo’s cause of absence was mental health problems following a split from his partner. Given that Real Madrid are already in the market for a centre-back after losing out on Leny Yoro, Vallejo’s days in the white might be unfortunately over.
#3 Dani Ceballos
Unlike the previous two players on our list, it cannot be said that Dani Ceballos has not had good days in a Real Madrid shirt. He has won 13 trophies with the club and has played a crucial role in quite a few seasons.
But despite that, it might be the time to ship Ceballos on, considering the immensely strong midfield setup that Carlo Ancelotti’s team already has and the midfielders that are coming up from the Castilla team to join the seniors.
In the 2023-24 season, Ceballos played 27 matches for Real Madrid in which he scored only 1 goal and gave 2 assists. His work rate was not very impressive either, as Ceballos had only 613 successful passes, which was lower than goalkeeper Andriy Lunin and youngsters like Fran Garcia and Brahim Diaz.
Not that his attacking output was any better as well, as the 27-year-old was responsible for only 32 shot-creating actions, as opposed to 79 of Diaz and 43 of Ferland Mendy, who plays in defense.
With the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, Edouard Camavinga, and Jude Bellingham all being very young, it is unlikely that Ceballos will get many minutes. Moreover, there are youngsters like Nico Paz and Reinier who will soon start to fight for a place in the midfield. So, the best option could be to part ways with Ceballos.
#2 Andriy Lunin
Lunin’s mention on this list might come across as surprising, but there is a reason why he has been picked. First of all, he indeed had a good season last time around and saved Real Madrid from potential troubles when their first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was out of action with an injury.
The Ukrainian shot-stopper played 31 matches, in which he conceded just 32 goals and kept 12 clean sheets. Those performances might have kept Lunin in the fight to become the team’s first-choice goalkeeper even after Courtois’ return, but it was not to be.
The scenario was made clear when Ancelotti selected Courtois to play in the final despite having just returned from injury while Lunin was relegated to the bench despite playing every knockout game.
Unfortunately for Lunin, there seems to be no possibility of him replacing Courtois as the Belgian seems to have Ancelotti’s confidence. With his contract running out next summer, and Spanish media reporting he already has an offer from Arsenal, it might be a good decision to encash on the opportunity and sell him now rather than watch him leave for free next summer.
#1 Rodrygo Goes
Rodrygo is attracting interest from multiple clubs in England and Germany
This will be another surprising inclusion on the list, but there are reasons behind Rodrygo Goes’ mention as well. The biggest headline-maker in the city of Madrid currently is Mbappe – the 2018 FIFA World Cup-winning star who has finally signed for his dream club after a lengthy tussle with Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe could be playing on either flank or down the middle and if Ancelotti plays the same formation as last season, Bellingham is expected to play as a number 10 behind two attackers.
There cannot be any doubt whatsoever that those two attackers will be Vinicius and Mbappe, while Arda Guler will be available as a backup after being injured for much of last season along with new signing Endrick. Hence, with many clubs wanting to sign Rodrygo, Real Madrid might want to sell him and use the funds to strengthen other positions.