Real Madrid Transfer News: Top 5 Transfer Targets for Jose Mourinho

Real Madrid have been very active in the transfer market this summer.

They opened up the summer with a very impressive purchase of Bundesliga Champion Nuri Sahin for only €10 million, a transfer which I labelled the best La Liga transfer thus far in a previous article of mine.

They then followed that signing by bringing in Hamit Altintop on a free transfer, Jose Callejon for €5 million, Raphael Varane for €10 million, and most recently, Fabio Coentrao for €30 million.

Thus, at this point of the season, Mourinho needs to start thinking about what players in his squad simply won't receive any play time next season, and start making deals to sell the off.

As I discussed in another Real Madrid article of mine, overcrowding can easily become one of Mourinho's biggest problems next season if he doesn't work to prevent it.

However, at the same time, there are still a few players on the market who could improve Real Madrid further, going into next season.

With that in mind, we look at five players that could still make Real Madrid's squad better, assuming sales are made on Real Madrid's existing fringe players, and squad spots open up.

Emmanuel Adebayor

I've noticed there's alot of Emmanuel Adebayor haters on Bleacher Report, so hear me out before you start bashing me for including him on this list.

Last season, Emmanuel Adebayor fulfilled his role well. He was brought in to be the club's third choice striker, to be used whenever Karim Benzema needed a break, was injured or wasn't performing, and did just that.

In six starts, Adebayor found the back of the net five times. He also scored as a sub for Real in the Copa Del Rey semifinal, and found the net twice for Real vs Tottenham in the Champions League.

Admittedly, Adebayor wasn't a great sub. He couldn't score in eight La Liga sub appearances, as well as three appearances vs Barcelona in the Champions League and Copa Del Rey.

But that doesn't neccessarily make him a bad third option. Strikers in general find it very difficult to bag goals as subs, and generally need lots of time to settle into their game before finding the back of the net.

With his eight goals for Real Madrid, and 13 overall, Adebayor showed that he can be relied on to be a goal threat against weak teams, or teams lacking in height.

Most importantly, Emmanuel Adebayor has shown on numerous occasions that he is desperate to rejoin Real Madrid, and is even willing to take a wage cut.

This is very important considering that, with Higuain healthy again, Real Madrid's Adebayor would likely have many fewer appearances than he did last season, and thus could easily become unhappy with his lack of playing time if he didn't value the fact that he'd be playing at Real Madrid.

The truth is that there are very few, if any, quality strikers on the market that would also be happy with the limited playing time that comes with being a third choice striker. Mourinho already knows what he can get from Adebayor, and considering how much Adebayor wants to rejoin, and how much Man City want to sell him, this purchase should be a no-brainer for Mourinho, who has already said that he's in the market for a striker.  

Daniele De Rossi

It may surprise many readers that I've decided to include Daniele De Rossi on this list. Indeed, Daniele De Rossi's story is that of a star falling just short of fulfilling his potential.

On numerous occasions, De Rossi has been referred to as the "next big thing" in Italian football. When he was selected as Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in 2006, everyone expected him to lead Italy's new generation of players to glory once the old guard faded away, and in 2009, when he won Italian Footballer of the Year, expectations were raised once again.

However, for a variety of reasons, De Rossi just hasn't lived up to the hype. He's been solid, and a constant starter for Roma and Italy, but not amazing. In fact, he's much better known in the media for his rough play and thrown elbows than his talent on the ball nowadays.

Part of the reason for his failure to live up to his potential is Roma's performances in recent years. The club has finished as runner-ups in the league five times in the last eight Serie A seasons (one due to Calciopoli), but have failed to win anything more than two Coppa Italias since De Rossi joined the first team in 2001. 

Thus, although it is admittedly a long shot, De Rossi may be interested in a move if Real Madrid show genuine interest in signing him. He has always been heralded as the "future captain" of Roma, but with his recent discipline issues and the lack of silverware at Roma, De Rossi may want to move in order to finally win trophies and be mentioned among the best of the game today.

De Rossi would fill the massive gap in Real Madrid's defensive midfielder spot, which until now has not been laid claim to by any of Real Madrid's current defensive midfielder options. He would provide Real Madrid with a fierce second free kick taker behind Ronaldo, a strong tackler in the center of midfield, and would allow Pepe to remain in his natural center back role alongside Carvalho or Ramos.

However, with DiBenedetto adamant that De Rossi will stay at the club, and Real Madrid having already spent so much money in a summer that was supposed to see spending drop at the club, it's unlikely that a move will materialize, despite how much of a boost it would provide Real Madrid. 

Yaya Toure

Bleacher Report's Tony DeFreitas does a great job of explaining why Yaya Toure would be excellent at Real Madrid, so I won't spend too much time discussing the subject and will link you instead to DeFreitas' article here.

Like De Rossi, Yaya Toure would be a great defensive midfielder along Xabi Alonso, and is very familiar with the role having played it at Barcelona. At Manchester City, he's actually been more of an attacking midfielder, or as DeFreitas calls him, a box-to-box midfielder, but the skills to play defensively are all still there.

Last season, Yaya Toure had an amazing year with Manchester City, with his best moment coming in the game vs Manchester United in the FA Cup semifinal when he scored the only goal of the game to seal passage for Manchester City into the final.

Again, with Yaya Toure the money issue arises, as he wouldn't go to Real Madrid for cheap, and with Carlos Tevez already on his way out, its unlikely that Manchester City will sell another starter.

However, speaking hypothetically, if Nasri were to complete a transfer to Manchester City, and Real Madrid were to show interest in Toure, a transfer could be completed, seeing as Manchester City would have a direct replacement for Toure and a very crowded midfield.

Maicon

Maicon was dead-certain to join Real Madrid a week back, but Real's big-money move for Coentrao has thrown Maicon's move to Real Madrid in doubt.

Certainly, it wouldn't be surprising, and in fact very typical of Real Madrid to bring in Maicon as well, but with the club having already spent so much and still planning on bringing in a striker, you never know.

What is known though is that Maicon would be a fantastic acquisition for Real Madrid.

Sergio Ramos has always been a very capable center back option for Real Madrid, but has been forced to play the right back position due to Real Madrid's lack of options.

With Maicon, Real would have the option to play Ramos in the center of defense, and if they decided not to take up the option, would have two world-class right backs to go along with their two world-class left backs.

Maicon over the past year has received alot of criticism for getting completely done over by Gareth Bale over two legs in the Champions League, but last night against Ecuador showed that he still had his game with solid defending and an assist for the fourth goal that effectively put the game to rest.

With his value now down to £17.9 million from the £35 million it was last year, now is the ideal time for Real Madrid to pounce and purchase one the best right backs in the world at a cut price.

You Choose

Well, I will go ahead and admit it: I've tried and tried to think of anyone else Real Madrid have been linked with and should consider signing, but there just aren't any players that spring to mind.

Of course there are many names that Real Madrid fans often mention as players they'd like to see at the Bernabeu. Neymar, Gareth Bale, Fernando Llorente, Nigel De Jong, and Eden Hazard. are five such players.

But most of these players simply do not make sense as additions to Real Madrid's squad, or have already been taken off the market.

Neymar is an example of the latter. Following Santos' announcement of their desire to hold onto Neymar till after the Club World Cup, the player himself has ruled out a move till the winter transfer window. Rumors still persist, but Santos and Neymar have stopped discussing the matter in the press.

Bale doesn't make any sense for Real Madrid with the purchase of Coentrao. In Marcelo, Coentrao, and Di Maria, Real Madrid have three very attacking left-sided players, two of which are capable of playing as left backs as well. Despite his versatility in being able to play left wing or left back, Gareth Bale just isn't needed with Real Madrid's current options.

Eden Hazard isn't likely to move now that Gervinho has left, and has already made it clear he's happy at Lille. Also a mega bid in the region of £40 million would probably be needed to sign him, and Real Madrid don't have that kind of money to splash after all the signings they've already made this summer. Plus the wing spots are covered at Real Madrid.

That leaves Nigel De Jong and Fernando Llorente, who both would be great boosts to Real Madrid's squad in positions that need solidifying, but to consider either one as a possible arrival at Real Madrid would be little more than fantasy football.

De Jong was amazing for Manchester City last season, and is Mancini's ideal player in how strong and physical he is. There's no one at Manchester City who could fill his role as well as he does it, and so its impossible that he'll move. Besides, do you honestly think Xabi Alonso would lineup beside Nigel De Jong?

Fernando Llorente has been hunted by clubs all over the world for years now, but Bilbao and Llorente have both shown no interest in parting company. Tottenham had a bid of £26 million rejected this winter, and so even if Bilbao ever were to consider selling, the bid would need to be in the region of £35 million, money that I don't believe Real currently have to spend.

So that's why I've left this last slide up to you, the reader. Are there any players not on this list you'd like to see at Real Madrid, or maybe players I've mentioned in this slide that you think would still be worth signing despite their price tags and other factors?

Or are you happy with the way the squad is and think that Mourinho should start selling players and working with what he has?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.