Real Madrid moved swiftly after the end of the domestic season, with Xabi Alonso arriving as manager flanked by two new signings in Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Los Blancos spent a combined €70m on the pair, but business has slowed since.
The original plan was to ensure that Alonso had most of a new backline in place for the tournament in the United States, with a left-back also supposed to arrive. That left-back has been identified as Alvaro Carreras of Benfica, after a fine second season at the Estadio da Luz, but negotiations have not gone smoothly.
Real Madrid were keen to do a deal for around €40m, but Benfica have thus far maintained their position that they want the full €50m stated in his release clause. Despite claims of an agreement, Los Blancos could not sign him before the tournament, and Benfica confirmed publicly that there was no deal in place. There has been some suggestion that Carreras was deeply unhappy about this, and refused to play in their final two games of the tournament, striking an unusual absence from Benfica’s starting XI against Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
As per Marca though, Real Madrid have now restarted negotiations for Carreras. They say that the talks are being conducted by presidents Rui Costa and Florentino Perez themselves, and that there is hope of a deal being done. For their part, Real Madrid and Carreras have an agreement on personal terms that was settled weeks ago.
Ferland Mendy, who is out injured, could be on his way out of the club if Carreras arrives. Recent reports state that Real Madrid will offer Mendy out on the transfer market, leaving Carreras to compete with Fran Garcia. The latter has been one of the surprises of the tournament for Xabi Alonso, and was the man of the match in their Club World Cup quater-final.
