Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid has a very clear roadmap: strengthen the center of the field with a top-level name. The new Madrid coach, far from opting for makeshift solutions or transitional fixes, has been blunt with Florentino Pérez: he only wants the best.
There's one name in his mind that overshadows everything else. No half measures, no rotation signings. If it happens, it'll be big.
Tchouaméni, Ceballos and Camavinga don't convince as holding midfielders
The Madrid coaching staff are certain that neither Tchouaméni, Camavinga, nor Tchouaméni are suitable. They don't quite provide the control, composure, or tactical intelligence that Xabi Alonso is looking for in a central midfielder.
The first is very defensive and not very flexible in building up play. The second is too anarchic in his game, more useful covering large areas than organizing from the back.
The third, although physically solid, hasn't managed to establish himself as the anchor who sets the tempo. Dani Ceballos isn't in the plans either: his lack of consistency and continuity have left him out of the project.
Xabi Alonso puts a name on the table: Rodri Hernández
Rodri is the chosen one. The Manchester City midfielder is, in the eyes of many, the best central midfielder in the world right now. For Xabi Alonso, a mirror of what he himself was as a player.
Elegant, tactical, precise, with authority, and a champion of everything. There's no one better to lead the engine room of the new Real Madrid. According to El Desmarque, the Madrid club has already initiated the first contacts to gauge the feasibility of the operation.
100 million and a total commitment: there's no plan B
In Valdebebas, they're clear: if they have to pay 100 million, they'll pay it. Madrid is willing to make an exception for Rodri, whom they consider as key a piece as Kroos once was.
There's no plan B. If it's not Rodri, no one will arrive. Xabi Alonso has made that clear.
No holding midfielders for the future, no unpolished prospects. Only Rodri.
The club assumes it won't be easy to convince Manchester City. It counts on the player's willingness, who wouldn't mind returning to Spain as the undisputed leader of the Madrid project.
Florentino looks for his new Kroos and wants to repeat last summer's move
Madrid's sporting management knows that Rodri would be a show of authority both in sporting and symbolic terms. A Spanish player, top-level, signed at his peak.
As happened with Kroos in 2014, the idea is to repeat a masterstroke that defines an era. The goal is clear: to have Rodri this summer. If they get the green light, Madrid will break the bank.
Florentino plays the card in his favor that the player wants to wear white, like everyone else. That's the starting point for all Real Madrid signings.