Marco Asensio, Real Madrid Agree on New Contract Through 2023

Real Madrid and midfielder Marco Asensio have agreed to a new contract, keeping the youngster at the club until 2023.

The club announced the news of the extension via Twitter. Per B/R Football, the new agreement will last for six years.

News of the extention shouldn't come as a surprise following Asensio's fine start to the 2017-18 season. The 21-year-old has established himself as one of the top talents in world football, and his fine form immediately led to transfer speculation.

While a move was highly unlikely, Catalan outlet Diario Gol (h/t The Sun's Jake Lambourne) linked the former Mallorca man with Arsenal throughout the summer, pointing at his relatively low buy-out clause. Per AS (h/t Daily Mirror's Liam Prenderville), that clause will be increased to €500 million in the new deal.

Los Blancos have pivoted toward younger players of late, with the likes of Asensio, Mateo Kovacic and Borja Mayoral seeing plenty of minutes. Of that group, Asensio is undoubtedly the top performer right now, and locking him up to a new long-term deal removes any worries the club may have had regarding his future.

The news will also serve as a much-needed boost of momentum for the club following a poor start to the La Liga season, with Barcelona already sitting seven points ahead in the standings.