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Report: Real Madrid Planning £400M Summer Splurge Amid Eden Hazard Rumours
March 29, 2019
Real Madrid have reportedly already shifted their focus to next season and are planning a major squad overhaul this summer, with Paul Pogba, Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappe their three key targets.
Los Blancos have little left to play for this season after being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey.
La Liga is effectively out of reach as they are 12 points behind leaders Barcelona, but they are also in little danger of dropping out the top four, so their last 10 matches of the 2018-19 campaign are largely academic:
As a result, the focus has turned to how they can avoid another disastrous season in 2019-20.
Zinedine Zidane is back at the helm, and Manchester United midfielder Pogba, Chelsea winger Hazard and Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe are top of the club's list of targets, according to L'Equipe (h/t Football Whispers' Adam Newson, via Sky Sports).
Club director Jose Angel Sanchez also recently met with agent Fali Ramadani, sparking links to his clients Miralem Pjanic of Juventus and Luka Jovic, who is on loan from Benfica at Eintracht Frankfurt, per Marca's Hugo Cerezo.
Ramadani also represents Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, who is valued at €100 million (£86 million) and could become a key target for Real if they lose Juventus-linked Raphael Varane, per AS (h/t Football Italia):
In central midfield, PSG's Adrien Rabiot, who will be available on a free transfer in the summer when his contract expires, is reportedly now on Real's radar.
According to Sport, some PSG sources believe a deal is already in place for Los Blancos to sign the 23-year-old after Barcelona's long-term interest in him cooled following their capture of Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
Liverpool's Sadio Mane, meanwhile, has emerged as a potential alternative to Mbappe.
According to Marca's Nacho Labarga, Zidane "has asked for the signing" of the Senegalese attacker and Mane, 26, is open to the possibility of working under the Frenchman, although he is not prepared to discuss his future until Liverpool's season is over.
French football magazine SO FOOT speculated that Real's side next season could be a little top-heavy if they sign all their mooted targets:
The most realistic attacking signing for Real is perhaps Hazard, who has long been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu and has not hidden his admiration for Zidane:
The Belgium international's contract at Stamford Bridge runs only until 2020, so if Chelsea want to make big money on him, they may have to sell him this summer.