Alexander Isak and 10 Other Teens Around Europe Real Madrid Should Be Looking at

A transfer ban is a minor detail when it comes to future planning for a football team; just as Barcelona secured deals for players to register them once their ban ended a year ago, so too are Real Madrid looking to make moves and ensure the finest youngsters on the continent come their way.

Marca reported the Spanish club are ready to finalise a move for Swedish prodigy Alexander Isak, the AIK striker who has earned comparisons with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, among others.

Here, we scour Europe for an additional 10 teenage talents, any of whom could go on to grace the shirt for Los Blancos...and who will surely cost double or treble their current value within a couple of years if teams opt to wait.

Alexander Isak

B/R's Sam Tighe talks us through Isak's strengths and weaknesses in the video above; the 17-year-old looks a remarkably complete forward even at this stage, with his finishing and control of the ball in tight spaces being the obvious plus points to his game.

It was reported by Swedish newspaper Expressen (h/t the Express' James Cambridge) that up to 90 teams had sent scouts to watch Isak recently, so finalising the deal will be a real coup for the Santiago Bernabeu side.

Ousmane Dembele

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Some of our players are already elite (or showing signs of being so); others still have work to do to get there.

One who belongs firmly in the former category is Borussia Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele, and having already faced up to him twice this season, Real Madrid need no reminding of his talents.

Dembele's dribbling ability and his acceleration through tight spaces are quite incredible, opening up gaps for the team to race through—but his acknowledgement of when to release possession and how to play between the lines is also impressive.

He's not the finished article, but it was a huge capture for BVB to snare Dembele, and they'll no doubt get a big return on the 19-year-old when he moves on.

When that happens, Real want to get themselves to the front of the queue.

Christian Pulisic

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Dembele's team-mate Christian Pulisic is another hot prospect—though because he's already at a big club, any move will be more difficult to secure.

Pulisic was already a full international with the United States at 17; now at 18, he's a regular member of Dortmund's matchday squad, and his raids down the flanks make him an extremely watchable player.

The maturity in his game can be seen in his decision-making and end product, and though he still has lots of growth left in him, he'd already be a first XI player at most clubs.

Pulisic has already shown Real what he can do as he assisted the equaliser against Los Blancos in September's UEFA Champions League match in Dortmund.

Aleix Garcia

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Not everyone on the list needs to be a £30 million-plus rated player already, though; Madrid have shown they will be patient and give chances to their homegrown stars even if it takes a spell elsewhere to find the consistency and growth they need—see Alvaro Morata and Lucas Vazquez as examples.

Aleix Garcia, 19, is in and around the first-team squad at Manchester City, which in itself says plenty about his talent given the range of midfielders available to manager Pep Guardiola (and Manuel Pellegrini last season).

Garcia has great technical ability, is aggressive and has wonderful vision. He needs game time, but the former Villarreal youth player can surely flourish into one of the next batch of controlling Spanish midfielders.

Jorge Mere

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Sticking with Spanish players, there are two prospects in particular in La Liga who bear watching and should only excite if they made the move to Real Madrid.

Jorge Mere is the heir to the Sergio Ramos-Gerard Pique partnership in central defence for the Spain national team, showing characteristics of both so far: aggressive and strong in the air, but also composed in possession and happy to run forward on the ball.

He is at Sporting Gijon and is 19 years old; within a year or two, he will certainly be at a bigger club. If he continues to progress, the thought of perhaps establishing a partnership with Jesus Vallejo might bode well for club and country in the future.

Mikel Oyarzabal

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In the attacking half, Real Sociedad's Mikel Oyarzabal is still the one to watch.

He exploded on to the scene in La Liga last term, and although this year he has yet to find the net in league play, his consistency on the ball and contribution to the team in a tactical sense is to be admired.

Hardworking, possessing great pace and able to play on either side or up front, Oyarzabal, 19, must be a consideration to surpass the likes of Lucas Vazquez, for example.

Malang Sarr

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Born in Nice, raised in Nice, a Nice academy player and now a Nice starter at centre-back—and he's just 17 years of age.

Malang Sarr is earning rave reviews for his debut campaign in Ligue 1, scoring on his debut and so far playing all 20 games with his team in second place in the table.

Composed on the ball, quick, strong and looking to make passes into midfield, Sarr has been playing on the left side of a three-man defence for Nice or partnering with Dante centrally in a back four, and he has played more minutes than any other player in the squad.

Kubilay Kanatsizkus

Over in Turkey's Super Lig, Kubilay Kanatsizkus has been making people sit up and take notice with his powerful displays as striker of Bursaspor, while also showing great movement behind defences. The 19-year-old has five goals this season, with four in his last five league games.

Turkish football authority Emre Sarigul told us directly: "He's very promising, a tall and strong presence to lead the line. Bursaspor have a good history of producing forwards recently."

Ruben Neves

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Ruben Neves has been expected to make a transfer for around two years now—and he's still only 19.

The FC Porto central midfielder was made captain last season, but he has been in and out of the side since then as the natural inconsistencies of a youngster have been seen. Even so, he's obviously a huge talent and has a good range of passing and the defensive awareness to hold the centre together against more experienced players.

He could slowly improve over a couple more years before really returning to top form explosively; if he is snapped up before then, his price tag is likely to be a lot lower.

Dominic Solanke

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Chelsea forward Dominic Solanke is another who is yet to hit top gear or get a sustained run of games for his side—but when Diego Costa and Eden Hazard are your chief team-mates in possession of the shirt, that's not necessarily a bad reflection on a young player.

A loan spell at Vitesse Arnhem last term gave him the chance to progress, but since he's out of contract in the summer—when he will be able to move to clubs abroad for a nominal fee, or to clubs in England for a higher compensation fee—there's not likely to be any shortage of suitors for a strong talent.

He is quick-footed, can score goals and is powerfully built; Solanke may not get a chance to make it at Chelsea, but he surely can elsewhere.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

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Needing a goalkeeper to round out our selections fairly, there are really only two names to consider: Alban Lafont of Toulouse and Gianluigi Donnarumma of AC Milan.

It's the latter who is the clear and absolute standout, already an elite goalkeeper at just 17 years of age with almost 50 Serie A performances to his name. Tall and imposing, he reads the game extremely well and offers impressive maturity and distribution. Donnarumma is almost certain to be Italy's No. 1 in years to come.

His club-football destiny might be at Milan for the time being, but unless they return to the top of Italian football, it'd be no surprise to see him move on. Guess who are constantly rumoured to be in the market for a new goalkeeper?

Real Madrid gave Iker Casillas his chance at just 17, and Donnarumma has already proved he is capable of the same feats at the same age.

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