Real Madrid Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Mariano and Fran Navarro

Real Madrid forward Mariano is reportedly being eyed by six clubs with a view to a possible loan move in January.

According to Carlos Forjanes of AS, despite his hat-trick against Cultural on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey, Los Blancos are unsure as to whether or not they'll keep him on the books beyond January. Valencia, Sevilla, Malaga, Deportivo La Coruna, Leganes and Alaves are all said to be considering taking the forward on a temporary basis.

Mariano was promoted to the senior Los Blancos ranks by manager Zinedine Zidane ahead of the campaign and made his first appearance for the first team as a substitute in the 2-1 win over Celta Vigo in August.

Although his hat-trick was impressive in the week, the biggest signs of his talent have come in his outings for Castilla. Here are some of his highlights from his time with the team:

Mariano showed plenty of promise in his Copa del Rey outing. While he may not be the easiest player on the eye and does lack the technical proficiency of a lot of his team-mates, the 23-year-old showcased the instincts of a pure goalscorer in the contest; his movement was very sharp and his finishing ruthless.

These numbers from the OptaJose Twitter feed sum up just how clinical the striker is when chances come his way:

Sadly for him, opportunities to showcase those talents will be rare if he remains with Los Blancos. In Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata, Zidane has three elite forwards to choose from to occupy the No. 9 berth; typically, the manager only uses one forward, too.

The clubs aforementioned could all potentially appeal to the striker, but the most important factor to consider is getting regular opportunities to show he can score goals in La Liga.

Liverpool to Rival Los Blancos for Fran Navarro

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According to SuperDeporte (h/t Marc Williams of the Daily Star), Liverpool and Real Madrid are both keen to secure the signing of Fran Navarro from Valencia.

The report suggested the two sides have each kept a close eye on the 18-year-old during his rise through the Valencia youth setup. Navarro is said to be a centre-forward who can also function well in the wide positions.

Liverpool have snapped up prospects from Los Che before, with Pedro Chirivella trading La Liga for the Premier League side.

Here's why there's a lot of buzz about the latest star youngster at Valencia:

Real Madrid have made a conscious effort to secure the brightest stars of the future, with the likes of Martin Odegaard, Jesus Vallejo and Marco Asensio all coming in recent seasons. So it would be no great surprise if they were tracking Navarro, who has made three appearances for Spain's under-17 team, scoring two goals.

The issue for Los Blancos in pursuit of any player as things stand is the FIFA embargo hanging over them. Real will not be allowed to make any new acquisitions for the next two windows after an unsuccessful appeal against FIFA's decision to ban them for breaking transfer regulations when signing youth players.