Real Madrid Transfer News: Yuri Berchiche, Aaron Martin Caricol, Latest Rumours

Real Madrid are looking for a second-choice left-back to replace Fabio Coentrao and have narrowed their search to Real Sociedad's Yuri Berchiche and Espanyol's Aaron Martin Caricol. 

That's according to Marca's Juan Ignacio Garcia-Ochoa and Marc Mayo (also reported by OKdiario), as the pair meet Real's criteria of being homegrown, likely to accept a back-up role behind Marcelo and not being overly expensive, as both have €30 million buyout clauses.

Per La Liga writer Andrew Gaffney, the story made Marca's cover:

Coentrao has made just four brief appearances this season totalling 150 minutes on the pitch because of injury, and fitness issues restricted him to just 19 outings in all competitions last year while on loan with AS Monaco.

He also turned 29 earlier this month, so Los Blancos are perhaps wise to seek a replacement for him and provide Marcelo with better cover.

Per Garcia-Ochoa, one target who has seemingly taken a back seat is Wolfsburg left-back Ricardo Rodriguez, who is "no longer a priority," albeit his camp is "still in contact" with the Spanish giants.

Here's a look at how he's compared with Berchiche and Martin this season, per Squawka:

	Berchiche	Martin	Rodriguez
Apps	25	22	21
Minutes	2,188	1,868	1,772
Goals	2	0	2
Assists	1	0	3
Chances Created	18	17	23
Take-Ons	32	31	0
Tackles	42	43	22
Aerial Duels	44	15	28
Interceptions	50	33	31
Clearances	64	56	55
Pass Completion	81%	76%	83%

Rodriguez is the most effective of the trio going forward, while Berchiche has the edge in terms of defensive numbers, though he has played substantially more than the other two.

At 27, Berchiche also has the edge in terms of experience, particularly over 19-year-old Martin.

The youngster still needs to work on his decision-making—especially in the final third, as he can occasionally be guilty of choosing the wrong option or suffering lapses in his passing when higher up the pitch—but he's a highly promising prospect.

Indeed, while Berchiche would be a fairly solid acquisition, Martin would perhaps be the better option as he could not only provide similarly strong cover but also has the potential to improve.

Given his youth, he could also make a strong candidate to become a long-term replacement for Marcelo in the coming years.

Equally, Rodriguez is still only 24 and could be available for just €18 million this summer, according to Garcia-Ochoa, so it could be worth Real rethinking their position on him.