Real Madrid Transfer News: Latest on Alvaro Morata, Isco Rumours

Juventus may be able to hold onto star forward Alvaro Morata a little longer if Real Madrid's potential transfer ban becomes a reality in the near future.

Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport (h/t Football Italia) joined Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo in claiming Los Blancos are in real danger of suffering a transfer ban similar to the one that saw rivals Barcelona unable to register any new players last summer.

And according to the Italians, Real would be unable to trigger the buy-back clause they inserted into the sale of Morata during the summer, meaning the Spain international would stay with Juventus until at least 2017:

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The striker arrived in a complicated deal worth €20m with options and counter-options, so his future is very much up in the air.

According to today’s edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport – and Spain’s Mundo Deportivo – Real Madrid risk falling foul of FIFA for illegal signing of under-age non-EU players.

Similar to the issue that saw Barcelona penalised, the Merengues could be barred from transfer activity for the next two sessions.

That would mean Real Madrid couldn’t activate their clause to buy back Morata over the summer of 2016.

The clause rises as time goes on, so the club would have to pay €30m to get Morata in 2016 and €35m in 2017.

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The 23-year-old moved to Turin in 2014 in an effort to get more consistent playing time, as he spent most of his time in the Spanish capital sitting on the bench behind regular starter Karim Benzema.

After a slow start with his new club, he enjoyed an excellent second half of the 2014-15 campaign, culminating in a goal in the UEFA Champions League final. Juventus reached that final by beating Real in the semi-finals, with Morata netting in both legs.

The clause Los Blancos inserted into the deal to send Morata to Turin didn't activate last summer, so there was no option of bringing him back then. The player himself also doesn't seem too keen on returning, as he told Radio Marca (h/t FourFourTwo's Adam Digby):

That said, Morata refused to celebrate either of the goals he scored against Real, and it stands to reason he would relish the opportunity of once again playing for the club that formed him into the player he is today.

If the transfer ban does become reality, it may yet be a while before Los Blancos can actually bring him back, however.

Arsenal Scout Isco

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

ClubCall (h/t Metro's Tom Olver) claims Arsenal sent a scout to watch Isco during Real's 4-3 win over Shakhtar Donetsk, and the Gunners may plan a move for the supremely talented midfielder after a reported bust-up following manager Rafa Benitez's decision to bench him for the Clasico against Barcelona.

Isco was relegated to the bench after a strong run in La Liga, with the returning James Rodriguez taking his place. He was visibly frustrated when he finally entered the pitch and took his frustrations out on Barcelona's Neymar with a rash challenge that resulted in a straight red card.

According to Marca, Isco believes he may never be part of Real's regular starting XI, no matter how hard he tries:

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He wasn't expecting it. On Friday, he believed he would be playing and that the one left out would be James. But things turned out to the contrary and Isco in some respects feels betrayed by Benitez. He did not go to join the Spain squad because of a few slight injuries, and with his thoughts on playing against Barcelona.

[...] However, once again Isco came up against the fact that he is not an automatic choice at Real Madrid, and he is starting to think that he never will be. He believes he was good enough to have started against Barcelona.

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The 23-year-old remains one of the best talents in La Liga, and as a star for Spain's national team, Real are unlikely to sell him. The prospective transfer ban would make a transfer even less likely, as Los Blancos wouldn't have the opportunity to bring in a replacement.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the likes of Arsenal are scouting Isco, but that doesn't mean a transfer, or even an offer, is imminent.

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