Real Madrid: The Main Targets
Real Madrid have been casting their net far and wide this summer in a bid to attract the one world class star that Bernd Schuster so badly wants to bolster his midfield.
While many of the stories and reports have amazed and outraged clubs, players and fans alike, none of the rumours have actually materialised into a conrete signing. At least not yet?
The club have strengthened their defence, backed up their goalkeeping options and added a new striker, but so far the numerous midfield targets have remained elusive.
Goal.com takes a look at who Madrid have been linked with and the reasons why none of them have yet been paraded at the Bernabéu in the club's new kit.
Kaká (AC Milan)
AC Milan have become almost as infuriated as football fans everywhere with Madrid's continuous attempts, both in person and in the media, to prise the Brazilian superstar away from the San Siro.
Ramón Calderón named Kaká as one of the players that he would sign if he won the presidential elections last year, but after his victory found that negotiating the transfer was virtually impossible.
Under the previous regime, world class players were targetted and then, by whatever means necessary, the club eventually captured the player. Luis Figo and David Beckham were easy catches, but Zinedine Zidane's and Ronaldo's transfers were long and drawn out affairs that saw a collective sigh of relief when they signed for Madrid.
The more that AC Milan reject Madrid's advances, the higher the next bid is predicted to be by the Spanish and Italian papers and it could be that everyone is looking forward to the end of the transfer window, just so that this saga can be put on hold for a few months.
Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal)
Unlike with Kakà, the media appear to accept that the chase for Cesc, another of Calderón's pre-election promises, is over and have actually stopped reporting that Madrid could try one last time to test the Gunners' patience with another offer before the end of August.
Fàbregas has made all the right noises as he claimed that he could not leave his mentor, Arsène Wenger, or the north London who he believes he owes so much to and with each comment he slowly made the circling vultures disappear. Unlike several of Madrid's other targets, Cesc is clearly happy where is and has made that plainly clear, but there may just be one other aspect to the whole story that has seen interest cool.
The Fàbregas family are staunch FC Barcelona fans and with Cesc representing the Catalan club and admitting to also being a Culé, the Madrid-biased press are not so adamant that they really want a dyed-in-the-wool Barça fan representing el Real. Outsiders may not agree, but politics in Spanish football are ingrained and in the media especially.
Arjen Robben (Chelsea)
The Dutch wideman may not constitute the world class star that Florentino Perez specialised in, but he would be a welcome addition for Schuster. Robben is the third player that Calderón said would be joining should he win the Bernabéu hotseat and it is certain that should a transfer finally go through then the president will state that he is the first and the other two will follow.
Chelsea have opted to play hardball and have doubled their original evaluation of the injury-prone star. Madrid are said to have offered €31m, but now the Blues require €36m which is a quantity that Calderón has stated is excessive. Schuster is very keen on landing Robben and it is his desire to sign the former PSV trickster that is driving the rumour and speculation forward.
Chelsea have added to the uncertainty by offering the player a new contract which he may or may not have rejected, depending on what one believes. Whatever the current state of play, the Robben soap opera is set to continue to be messy until either Chelsea decide to sell or Madrid give up.
Alexandre Pato (Internacional)
Followers of Brazilian football maybe be able to truly state that the 17-year-old is the real deal or not, but for those that have not seen him regularly a reliance on the European media's fascination with the tug-of-war between some of the continent's biggest clubs maybe giving a warped view.
Such is the craze among the media and supporters about where the prodigal starlet should go, that one would expect Pato to have recently starred in a major international tournament in order to cause such a fuss. AC Milan have sent representatives to Brazil to persuade the player to join them, while Madrid have constantly held talks with his family as well to tempt them to make a decision, but nothing has happened yet.
Schuster, who has quickly proved to be good at using the media, has hardly mentioned the interest in Pato. How serious Madrid are about signing him remains to be seen, but the media coverage will continue unabated as the Spanish press would see his signature as a victory over the Italians.
Note: Since this article was written, news has filtered through that AC Milan have signed the player, officially ending this avenue for Los Merengues.
Royston Drenthe (Feyenoord)
The chase for the 20-year-old has proven that there are limits on Madrid's spending as they consider that €17m is too much for a player that has yet to prove his worth in one of Europe's top leagues. While Kaká could cost €90m, if the most outlandish reports are to be believed, then Calderón's ambition to sign Drenthe appears to be slightly more realistic.
Schuster has again had a hand in the move for the star of the recent Under-20 European Championships after he said that he would like Drenthe to be part of his squad for next season. Feyenoord recognise that they will be forced to sell their starlet one day, but are not prepared to be bullied into allowing Madrid to take him for less than their evaluation.
FC Barcelona and Chelsea are also interested and all the rumours have turned the player's head, but he is evidently being well advised because rather than follow so many other players of promise and demand a transfer, he appear to be willing to continue learning at the club that nurtured him.
Lucho González (Porto)
After fending off interest from Atlético de Madrid and Valencia, the Portuguese giants must now attempt to keep their Argentinian star for a third time after Madrid have now been linked with a move. Cynical as it may seem Lucho's future could be solely dependent on how much money is put on the table with Media Sports Investment (MSI), the group at the centre of the Carlos Tevez controversy, owning 50 per cent of hs rights.
Of course, every club holds out for as much as they can for players, but with Porto only receiving half of any income, they will want to ensure that it is enough for them to be able to go out and buy a suitable replacement. Lucho does have a €25m buy-out clause, but both Atlético and Valencia did not believe that he was worth that figure and now it will be down to Madrid to persuade Porto to lower the figure that they are willing accept.
Given los Merengues' success in their other ventures it would appear that unless they are willing to trigger the clause then they could be, once again, left empty handed.
Samir Nasri (Marseille)
Quite whether the Spanish media are struggling themselves to find suitable targets or whether Madrid are leaking bits of information out to test the waters remains unknown, but Nasri did say just three months ago that he was definitely staying in France for at least another season. The reports of the Spanish club's interest in the 20-year-old were surprisingly brief back in May because of the player's strong statement over the speculation.
Having risen through the ranks at Marseille, Nasri is excited by the prospect of playing in the Champions League for his hometown club and claimed that, while flattered by the interest being shown in him, he believes that it would be "madness" to leave.
If Madrid have decided to take another crack at Nasri then it could be considered to smack of desperation, but that is not a criticism of the player but of the club's policy. Nasri is a rising star and is set for a great future, but having been told no in no uncertain terms, Madrid should leave well alone for at least 12 months.