It has been a very disappointing few weeks on the pitch for Real Madrid. Xabi Alonso's side have won just one of their last five games in all competitions, against Greek outfit Olympiacos, where they needed four goals from Kylian Mbappe to come from behind and win.
Los Blancos have drawn three straight games in La Liga, seeing their five-point gap to rivals Barcelona evaporate in the process, undoing all of the hard work done in El Clasico back at the end of October.
Well, there is now some disappointment off the pitch. As per highly credible BBC journalist Sami Mokbel, Bayern Munich are in advanced talks to extend the contract of Real Madrid target Dayot Upamecano.
Dayot Upamecano Looks to Sign New Bayern Deal
Dayot Upamecano
IMAGO / Philippe Ruiz
He reports that Bayern 'expect' the player to sign a new contract, with 'positive discussions' held between the player, his entourage, and the club over the past few weeks.
So, that particular deal is now off the table—a great shame, as Upamecano is a top-class central defender who is coming into his prime. Don't be fooled by mistakes made years ago; he has been very consistent for a long period of time now.
Where Real Madrid go from here is interesting. Mario Cortegana of The Athletic has reported that Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is 'not a priority' at the moment.
Perhaps that will change if and when Upamecano officially extends his contract. Maybe the club had Guehi as a second-choice target behind the Frenchman, and could now accelerate their plans to sign him. But who knows?
Marc Guehi and Trent Alexander-Arnold
IMAGO / Action Plus
What we do know is that Real definitely need reinforcements in that area, especially with David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger out of contract in the summer. Owing to their contract situations, perhaps the club will insist on a free signing, or signings, in that position.
However, with the club pulling out of the race to sign Ibrahima Konate, Upamecano's pending new contract, and not prioritizing Guehi, the free agent list becomes thin. Those three are the only out-of-contract central defenders with a market value of above 25 million Euros.
The next on the list is Eric Garcia of Barcelona, which would never happen. Then there is Marcos Senesi of AFC Bournemouth, a good player who will have played with Dean Huijsen. But, as the latter has shown, it is an absolutely huge step up in pressure.
Dean Huijsen and Marcos Senesi
IMAGO / Pro Sports Images
After that, you have John Stones, who has had a superb career but is incredibly injury-prone and will be 32 next season. It generally feels counterproductive to replace Alaba and/or Rudiger with that sort of profile.
So, perhaps Florentino Perez and co's hands will be tied, and they will have to splash fees, potentially quite big ones, on centre halves next summer. But we shall see.
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