Good News - for Real Madrid
Bad News - for Arsenal

It's being reported that Real Madrid are on the verge of signing Illarramendi from Real Sociedad for a 5 year contract. The young deep-lying playmaker is very highly rated and is being seen as the eventual replacement for Xabi Alonso.
The fee is unconfirmed but there are noised it will not be far off from his buy-out clause €30M!

This will be unwelcome news to Arsene Wenger who is said to be a fan of the youngster.

He shouldn't join Madrid unless he is guaranteed first team time.

^LOL, I see what you did there ;)

TBF, it looks like Xabi will go next summer so even if Illarra doesn't play much this year he'll be learning and training for the year after. That's as good as it gets for a young player at a club like RM.

@Vendetta

He is on the verge of it. Alonso is turning 32 this year, and he's not very keen on signing a new contract. I'd rather have a Spaniard replace him on our team than someone like, say, Gundogan. And Ancelotti is a different person from Mourinho, and the fans will expect him to succeed where Mourinho has failed, and continue our rise to the top. O:)

But the point being, Ancelotti is more enthusiastic about youngsters than Mourinho, so I expect Illaramendi to get more playing time than most would expect if he comes. :)

@ Footaholic

Exactly. :)

Damn, so Madrid making some good young signings...

Isco, Illarramendi, Carvajal... all look very good. Plus they still have some of their promising youth coming through (e.g. Jese & Morata). Somehow, I'm sure Perez will try to prevent their progression, as per normal.

@Footaholic

That's exactly what I'm afraid of. What I love most about these players is that they're all Spanish, so it shows our blood. But I hope Ancelotti can do something about it. If it were up to me, I'd sell Benzema and get Cavani, because we need a more reliable striker up front with Higuain gone. Then, I'd make Morata Cavani's replacement, and his ONLY replacement.

I'd sell Callejon and promote Jese.

Replace Arbeloa with Carvajal.

Sell the abnormally inconsistent di Maria to make room for Isco.

And sell Alonso after one year so that Illaramendi learns some skills and technique from him. :)

Casillas

Carvajal Ramos Varane Marcelo

Khedira lllarramendi

Ozil Isco Ronaldo/Bale

Benzema

@Rama

Except,

1. I don't want Bale on our team. The rightful heir to Ronaldo is Jese Rodriguez.

2. AVB declared that Bale isn't going anywhere this summer, and Real Madrid supposedly stopped chasing him for now, and will resume the chase next summer.

^ They are still going after him. They have even reserved the No. 11 shirt for him!

@rama

I know right! Isco should've gotten that number! :'(

It's all just noise. They (alongside Marca) failed to make Tottenham sit up and listen with their media hype and supposed 85m rating, so now Perez is just trying to find a way of saving face, and avoiding admitting that his mega-bucks, which work so well at bullying Spanish teams who are in debt, failed to bully little ol' Spurs.

But yes, Isco should feature prominently in the team. If he doesn't it will be a crime against football. On the plus side, if Alonso does move on, that'll shift more focus onto Modric, and then you Madristas will see why you paid 33m for him. ;)

LOL, MADRID aren't even planning to actually buy him this summer. They're just planting the seeds for next year. I wrote this before but let me repost it:

Any Madrid fan will tell you that this is typical Real Madrid transfer strategy:
Step 1 = Identify Player X as a player they want
Step 2 = Speak to Player X or his agent too feel him out
Step 3 = If Player X and/or his club don't want to do business this summer, and he is a high priority/blockbuster signing needed for re-election/PR purposes begin media campaign (Steps 4-8)
Step 4 = Have a high-ranking executive/backroom member praise Player A in media (e.g. Zidane)
Step 5 = Tell media you're making an offer when you're not OR Make a symbolic offer for said player even if clubs are in agreement a deal won't go through this season
Step 6 = Make a pre-agreement with Player X to move next summer
Step 7 = Next summer, offer massive deal and make it clear to media that Player X wants deal done.
Step 8 = If Parent club resists, encourage Player X to make a stinker/strike to force the move through
Step 9 = Job Complete.

It's not very professional or nice, but that's how Spanish clubs role.

@Footaholic

As was the case with Ronaldo, Isco, Modric, and many others LOL. Your post is hilarious because it's true. :D

It only took so long with Ronaldo, because SAF held out. Sure they'll try again next summer, and thus are now trying to walk back their constant attempts to make Bale demand a transfer, but make no mistake: Perez wanted it this summer. ;)

@Dynast: You mean THIS Jese Rodriguez?

<http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/tottenham-offer-e11-5-million-for-real-madrid-castillas-jese-rodriguez-marca/?>