Real Madrid Transfers: 3 LaLiga standouts worth monitoring this winter

Real Madrid are involved in a tight La Liga battle in which only five points separate the top six, which is a testimony of the quality of the Spanish top division.

Some of the league’s finest players have left for greener pastures, particularly the Premier League in recent months with Marc Cucurella’s move to Brighton being a fine example to boot. However, La Liga Santander continues to be underrated and promises to bring up yet another tight and enticing title race besides having several clubs with the pedigree to go all the way in the Champions League as well as the Europa League come the end of the campaign.

A number of individual names are also doing a tremendous job with their clubs and that was further known to the rest of Europe with Spain’s run to the semifinals European Championship earlier this year and then the final of the UEFA Nations League last month.

With there being a quota of how many non-EU players a club’s roster can host, Real Madrid are certainly bound to consider signing talent from across Spain as well- particularly because those are proven players in La Liga, which is arguably the world’s best league. Which are the three players from the Spanish division which Madrid can try to sign during January?

YEREMI PINO- VILLARREAL

Yeremi Pino broke into the Villarreal first team during the 2020/21 season and has since established himself as a regular in Unai Emery’s plans. He was also the scorer of the opening goal for the Yellow Submarine last season in a 2-1 loss against Real Madrid on the final matchday of the season, before putting in a shift in the Europa League final against Manchester United.

This term, he has started all matches for Emery’s men and has already struck twice in all competitions and provided three assists as well. If the 19-year-old continues to progress the way he has in the last six months or so, it will be very difficult for Villarreal to hold onto him, so the Whites must try to take full advantage of the situation which the Castellan side may face.

Madrid’s right wing has been a position that has left several questions unanswered and Yeremi Pino, at least by the early looks of it has been a talent worth admiring. He may well be the future of La Liga if he can continue to contribute on the same wavelength. His defensive and offensive qualities are superior to most players of his age and that makes him an all-around product.

It is not known whether Villarreal could be open to the idea of selling him, but Real Madrid can surely make an attempt to bring in the player in January. Initially, he may not be able to break through a squad full of superstars, but a loan spell or two within the Spanish top flight itself could help the player or at least increase his transfer worth further for the club to use him only to sell and more as an investment if things end up not working out well.

DIEGO CARLOS- SEVILLA

While most clubs continue to focus on the young central defenders Jules Kounde and Pau Torres within LaLiga, Diego Carlos of Sevilla is slowly making a name for himself. He has not yet achieved the hype as Kounde or Torres have but with Real Madrid looking likely to sign a central defender to compete for a regular spot with David Alaba and Eder Militao, Diego Carlos is surely a player worth having a good look at this winter.

The 28-year-old is certainly not a very young player like the ones Real Madrid would prefer signing, but his qualities are still there for all to see. Moreover, he is still relatively young and will enter the prime years of his career very soon. Given that his teammate Kounde is a greater focus of attention, Diego Carlos would have a lesser value and could turn out to be a bargain if used well.

January seems to be a good time to sign him because the business end of the season would require rotations and Jesus Vallejo does not seem to have convinced Carlo Ancelotti as much as he would have liked. Real Madrid definitely have the resources to make a good signing in the winter transfer market and a central defender might just be a player they consider going into January.

Diego Carlos is a great passer of the ball and is also aerially very strong- perhaps more so than Real Madrid’s third central defender in Nacho Fernandez. His two most important attributes are the ones Real Madrid miss on some occasions with Sergio Ramos having departed. And while Alaba does bring them to the plate, a player as important as him simply cannot be overutilized.

THIERRY CORREIA- VALENCIA

Dani Carvajal’s persistent fitness issues over the last year and a half have opened the door to the club potentially signing a right-back sooner or later. Lucas Vazquez has been used as a back-up to his Spanish counterpart but the former Espanyol loanee has yet to impress this season. If Carvajal faces a relapse of his issues, Los Blancos could try to sign a right-back in January itself.

For that reason, the name of Thierry Correia could echo into the club’s offices- or at least it should, given the Valencia man’s slow and steady progress in La Liga over recent months. The 22-year-old has not established himself as a starter just yet due to Jose Bordalas preferring players with experience over youth in his roster, but that certainly does not deter Correia’s qualities.

Correia, like Carvajal, is a very underrated full back who brings about a renewed spark to the final third when he is on the pitch. He is pacey and a good dribbler of the ball as well. Defensively, his positioning is usually spot on and that is the most important thing for any full back these days, given how fast the game has become lately. That said, he has very high potential which is waiting to be realised.