Last summer was an uncharacteristically austere one at Real Madrid. This summer will not be.
Finishing 19 points behind Barcelona does not permit that. Finishing behind Atlético Madrid for a second season in a row does not permit that. Bringing back Zinedine Zidane does not permit that.
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Zinedine Zidane is braced for the most important summer of his career
The French coach has more skin than most in this summer’s game. The three time Champions League winner was treated like a hero when he made a shock return to the Santiago Bernabéu earlier this year. Treated as the only person capable of pulling Madrid out of their mess.
Zidane had the leverage needed in negotiating his comeback to earn exceptional power in the transfer window that is rarely if ever granted to a Madrid coach. He will have a huge say on who they bring in and who they move on in the coming months.
The success or failure of his moves in this transfer window in returning Madrid to the top will define part of his legacy.
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The operations will be many and they will be complicated. The first signings, winger Rodrgyo, defender Éder Militão and striker Luka Jović, are only the tip of the iceberg. The trio are support players – destined to enter into squad rotation – and not direct requests from Zidane, who has his sights set on far bigger targets. The kind of signings Madrid failed to make last year with disastrous consequences.
This year there is no doubt over who Zidane’s first priority is. A priority he has been advocating since way back in 2009, when he first returned to Madrid as an advisor to Florentino Pérez.
“I would bring Eden Hazard to Real Madrid with my eyes closed,” the Frenchman said of the then Lille player at the time. Chelsea ultimately beat Los Blancos to the punch, but matters will soon be put right.
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Eden Hazard celebrates winning the Europa League in May
Hazard ticks so many boxes for Madrid in terms of quality, suitability for constructing a new team, and availability that he’s effectively a ‘tap-in’ for both Zidane and the club.
The Belgian is so consistent and so clearly ready for the step up that there is not even a molecule of doubt that he will perform.
The more immediate consequence of his signing this summer though is a financial one: gone are the days when Real Madrid had the monetary advantage needed to out-muscle all-comers in the market.
The economic strength of the top Premier League sides, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus means that with Hazard through the door, the Spanish giants will have to be more selective about their subsequent moves and how they use their resources.
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Luka Modric and Toni Kroos had a tough season in Madrid and are battling for their places
So while the faltering performances of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric last season make it clear that a big-name midfielder needs to be brought in, there isn’t the financial leeway to bring in two.
Zidane prefers Paul Pogba, the club prefers Christian Eriksen. The resolution of that battle, how the chosen player performs, and who their principle backer at Madrid was, will be remembered.
Sign Pogba, suffer a flat season from the France international at huge expense, and Zidane’s support of him will not be overlooked. Or vice-versa, should the midfielder return to the level he showed at Juventus.
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Negotiations for either midfielder will be prolonged and tricky, but a more straightforward operation is Ferland Mendy.
The Lyon left-back is Zidane’s express request to compete with the declining Marcelo, and the coach will get his way.
Zizou already contacted the 23-year-old directly to convince him that he is in line to get enough minutes in 2019/20 to compete for a spot in France’s Euro 2020 squad, showing the Madrid boss is ready to be ruthless with the underperforming veteran who currently defends the left side of the defence. But as a key player in so many trophy wins, Marcelo’s shoes are big ones to fill, and there will be a large amount of scrutiny on the successor chosen by Zidane.
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Mendy is one of Europe’s best young full-backs
Then there are his choices regarding who to move on. Funds are not limitless, and to complete the level of signings planned this summer, Madrid need to balance the books to the tune of around €200m in sales.
Isco, Dani Ceballos, James Rodríguez, Marcos Llorente and Mateo Kovačić are all likely candidates. Raúl de Tomás meanwhile, despite his strong season on loan at Rayo Vallecano, failed to do enough to earn support from Zidane, the signing of Jović suggests.
And this time around there was no great protest in favour of Keylor Navas either, who will finally be moved on to clear the way for under-fire Thibaut Courtois.
This time Zidane picked his battles. One battle the manager has taken up though is his clear push to get rid of Gareth Bale, the Welshman dropped for two matches in a row then an unused substitute, denied any kind of send-off in the last game of the season at the Bernabéu. No ambiguity about Zidane’s wishes there.
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Gareth Bale looks set to leave Real Madrid this year, whether on loan or permanently
Should any of the players who depart go on to perform exceptionally elsewhere it will likely become a point of contention – remember the fuss over what happened with Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder after being ushered out the door not too long ago. And this time, the buck stops with the manager.
Every time Zidane says yes, says no, or says nothing at all in the coming weeks, it has the potential to be a moment of great consequence when conclusions are made this time next year.
Club legend or otherwise, Zizou has a huge amount at stake this summer.
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