Real Madrid target Aymeric Laporte is reportedly eager to break free of his large Al Nassr contract for nothing, but the club want to receive the same fee they paid for him, and Carlo Ancelotti has made a big call.
Real have struggled in their attempts to recruit at centre-back this summer. Their transfers so far have all been in the attack, with last season s loan player Joselu joining permanently before leaving again and superstar signing Kylian Mbappe, plus future star Endrick joining.
But centre-back Leny Yoro rejected the La Liga giants, with Manchester United offering him a better deal. It was seemingly the minutes the Red Devils could offer than helped their case, when Real felt they could wrap things up easily.
Indeed, at Real, Yoro would have had to contend with Eder Militao, David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger, and breaking into United s back line seems much easier after an eighth-placed Premier League finish.
Real have since registered reported interest in former Manchester City centre-back Laporte.
According to reports, the Al Nassr defender is eager to break free from the Saudi Arabian side for free if possible, heading to Real, who are said to be keen on recruiting more depth in the defence.
But Al Nassr will not let Laporte go that easily. He was signed a year ago for approximately £23million, and it s said the Saudi side want to receive that back in order to let the Euro 2024 winner go.
And Real manager Ancelotti now believes a centre-back addition is not required, and no more transfers will be made at the club this summer.
The squad is closed. [Jesús] Vallejo is back, Alaba is recovering, he said.
We have young centre-backs like Joan, Jacobo and Raul [Asencio] who are training and have a lot of quality. I believe we are well covered in this position.