He is the player impressed me most in the preseason so far. Seems like he think he had a bad season last year (according to his standards) and wants to prove a point to the juniors waiting on the wings. I am sure He (along with modric) wont stay as a burden to the club. They will retire/move when they think they are not good enough for madrid.
Kroos, Modric, Benzema and Nacho all have their contracts expiring in 2023. Would be epic if we won the CL and they all retired/left at the same time. Will top Marcelo winning it last season. Kroos has been one of the best midfielders in our history but like he thinks it's time to step back and let the young guns take over although I'd still want him for one more season for a seamless transition helping out the young guns with his experience from the bench. Modric likewise. As we have noone to take over from Benzema we are in desperate need for him to renew but he is like Kroos and wants to decide at the end of the season. Would be devastating if he left without us finding a replacement.
Benz will stay as long as he's good enough to perform at RM level. Kroos has talked about returning in early 30s even going back 7-8 years ago. Benz really seems to be enjoying this phase and won't be surprised if he plays until 40 like Ibra, Ron etc. He will probably go back to Lyon once his level drops from RM standards.
He was the first to report our interest in Iker Bravo few weeks ago. 🚨 Principio de acuerdo entre el Real Madrid y el Bayer para cesión con opción de compra de Iker Bravo. Esta tarde debería quedar resuelto todo y el jugador podrá viajar a España. Más detalles en el canal luego.— Ramón Álvarez de Mon (@Ramon_AlvarezMM) August 11, 2022 Principle of agreement between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen for loan with purchase option of Iker Bravo. This afternoon everything should be resolved and the player will be able to travel to Spain.
🚨🎖| Agents have travelled to Germany to close Iker Bravo deal, everything should be resolved soon. @MarioCortegana [advanced from @Ramon_AlvarezMM]— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) August 11, 2022
Looking ahead a little... Watching Fede put in great shifts at RW makes me wonder whether the club intends to keep him there for the short/medium term in rotation with Rodrygo. In such a scenario, the noise about us going all in for Bellingham next year would then make sense. If Fede stays as RW as his primary position/role, we could conceivably looking at future midfield of: Bellingham / Tchouameni / Camavinga ...after we move on from KCM: Vini --------------Benz ----------Fede/Rodrygo Camavinga/Ceballos -------------Bellingham/Fede ------------------Tchou/Case------------ It would make a lot of sense for Fede would play RW and also seamlessly jump into midfield whenever needed. Vini would be set on his LW and the next superstar purchase would only happen when Benz finally slows down probably after 2 seasons. I was always wondering where in the world you would fit Bellingham when you already have Cama/Tchou/Fede...... This could be it. Anyways just a random thought.
Fede has done well out wide but I wouldn’t want to see any planning based on that; he still belongs closer to the center of the pitch and that’s where he’s still most useful by far.
Yea, I see Fede playing as CM in future. We are playing him on the flanks due to KCM being mainstays. Besides, his ability to cover ground defensive balance with Modric and Kroos up there in age. Bellingham will probably end up at City for 100 ME+ like Grealish. No cheap buyout for him afaik.
Fede works as a hybrid RW/CM for another year, makes sense considering it looks like Ceballos is sticking around who Carlo seems to rate. like many others I’d prefer a backup option to Benzema, but I’m not sure I see it happening at this point. Only thing the squad is missing, we haven’t had depth like this in years.
PLAYER ANALYSIS: IKER BRAVOReal Madrid are close to sign 17-year-old forward Iker Bravo from Bayer Leverkusen. How does he play and what kind of striker is he? What are his strengths and areas for improvement? Where and how would he fit in Raúl’s team?👇👇 pic.twitter.com/vvD2ITfLg5— Real Madrid Fabrica (@FabricaMadrid) August 11, 2022
Profiles as a modern type of striker and in a similar play style as Benzema. Whether he'll reach the first team depends on the work he puts in and a lot on the faith and coaching of Raul. Again, as I said before, Raul has a lot to prove this year with the talent level he has in Castilla. All in all, a cheap gamble and given someone of the word from people that follow him, he's one of the best prospects to come out of Spain in the past decade. At worst he'll have resale value down the road.
Based on Iker Bravo's profile and watching Matheus Nascimento, it is clear the club is looking for young modern strikers who can drop deep and link up with the midfield.
One-season loan with a purchase option of more than 6 million euros and variables conditioned on sports performance. As Ramón Álvarez de Mon has advanced and this newspaper has confirmed, the price is around 150,000 euros, to which another 100,000 should be added if he plays 20 games. They are amounts, therefore, very far from the million euros that Bayer began asking for. https://www.marca.com/futbol/real-madrid/2022/08/11/62f4e512e2704eb14e8b4586.html Zero risk deal basically.
This is about as exciting as when we first signed Odegaard. We might sign someone who might turn good in 5-10 years, in the meantime we won’t see him play unless we watch children’s football.
Odegaard joined when he was 15 and Castilla was too much for him at that age. Iker Bravo turns 18 in a few months. Jese, Morata made the jump to first team soon after impressing with Castilla.
This might just be me, but signings for Castilla never excite me, sure of course I want them to turn into world beaters but the excitement isn’t there. Vini and Rodrygo for me were different (Odegaard too tbf) because literally every single top club in Europe wanted these players. Iker Bravo on the other hand as you said is a minimal risk move that could turn good but the expectations are imo minimal also, like Vinicius Tobias I guess.
I go to bed every night thinking she might not have a headache and she might not be tired, this is the way
I think we need an attacking player, not necessarily CF. Ideally, someone versatile enough to play both striker and winger (which is why I was proposing Dybala). Arribas is good as a second striker. Anyway Iker Bravo doesn't seem like a giant either. In fact he doesn't seem to have any standout quality, hes decent technically and presses a lot. I don't see the expected progression here; usually players this young need to show above average athleticism to appear on the radar, and then get better tactically and technically through experience. Bravo doesn't look either fast or strong tbh. Obviously this is all based on Youtube videos, but I doubt anyone here has been consistently watching his games.
Arribas is like 5'7, and Iker Bravo is like 5'10. They are not the same profile at all. You are not going to find a single profile comparison out there that even remotely suggests that. The only real chance anyone would have had to see him play would have been with the Spanish youth teams. That is basically where I saw him play. I have been around for Mayoral, Jese, Morata, Soldado, Negredo etc. Outside of Jese (who had a few screws loose), I have never been that high on any of the youth strikers that have come through the Madrid youth system. What I mean by that is that I never thought any of them could be starters. Squad players, yes, but not higher than that. I have Iker Bravo in this tier, but the only question I have is whether his physical advantages against other 16 year old made him stand out more than it should. He looked more filled out than others in his age cohort. Those type of advantages disappear when you move up through the age categories. If he doesn't produce in Castilla, you can just cut your losses, no big deal. This is a no lose situation. He is going to be at Castilla for probably 2 years.
Point to me where I said they are the same profile, or even compared the two. Since you followed Iker Bravo more, whats his standout attribute according to you? From what I can tell, is neither size, nor quickness, nor strength, and I wouldn't say hes exceptionally skillful either, although hes competent enough with the ball. I was most impressed by his pressing, but other than that, meh.