Real Madrid has put Arsenal target Isco up for sale, according to reports in AS. The Premier League club is reported to have tracked Isco for much of this summer but have struggled to make progress with a transfer.
But that could all change as Real manager Zinedine Zidane finally makes his decision over the attacking midfielder. That is according to Spanish newspaper AS, who claim Real bosses have reportedly told club’s French manager Zinedine Zidane that he must sell a player before he can make any more new signings.
And the 24-year old Spanish attacking midfielder seems to be the first player in Zidane’s clearance list alongside Colombian forward James Rodriguez. However, it is believed that the European champions want a sizeable fee before they will let him leave the club, and the fee is expected to be in excess of €45m (£38.2m).
Isco joined Spanish giants Real Madrid in July 2013 from Malaga CF after an impressive 2012/13 season under Chilean and ex-Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini when Malaga made the UEFA Champions League quarter-final. In the next season at Madrid, he won the La Decima with the Los Blancos.
He also won the Copa Del Rey that season. He ended the 2013/14 season with 11 goals, 9 assists and two trophies playing 53 games in all competitions.
The next season (2014/15) he scored 6 goals, assisted 14 times and won the UEFA super cup & club world cup with Real Madrid in a highly disappointing season for the Madrid club which saw the then Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti getting sacked by club president Florentino Perez at the end of the season.
The following season saw the arrival of Spanish manager Rafael Benitez from Italian club S.S.C. Napoli. Real Madrid had a bad first half of the 2015/16 season which led to the sacking of Benitez after being in charge for just six months. Assistant manager and Real Madrid legend Zidane took over the reigns at the club which ultimately led to the fall of Isco.
Zidane didn’t prefer Isco much and hence the 24-year old midfielder mostly spent his time on the bench and was used as a substitute. Real won the Champions League last season beating city rivals Atletico Madrid for the 2nd time in three years in the final. Isco ended the season with 5 goals and 12 assists concluding his worst season for the Los Blancos.
With the new season set to start in a few weeks time, Zidane would be adamant to settle the future of Isco and concentrate on bringing in new players to strengthen his squad. Hence this would be the right time if Arsenal has any intention to sign Isco this season to act accordingly.
Let us hope that club manager Wenger does the right thing in the remaining days of the transfer window in order to guide our team to the coveted Premier League trophy which has been eluding us for the past 13 years.
