Real Madrid's transfer business in the recent past

With Real Madrid currently outside the Champions League places in Spain's La Liga, their fans, accustomed to a steady stream of success, are growing increasingly frustrated.

To compound matters, it's their bitter rivals Barcelona who sit five points clear at the top of the table and 10 points ahead of their flagging side.

So Monday's announcement of the signing of Brahim Diaz, a youngster with just 414 minutes' senior football experience with Manchester City under his belt, hardly quickened the pulse.

Unhappy and underwhelmed fans took to Twitter in their droves with messages such as 'this is not what we need!' and 'Get us better players, not these small boys.'

Real were once the club that cherry-picked the finest footballers from around the world, the chance to win the Champions League at the Bernabeu more than enough enticement for the game's elite.

But the Galactico era has seemingly passed, with Real's transfer policy of the last few seasons less eye-catching and more focused on promising young talents.

And the results have been pretty mixed. Even in a team that has won a hat-trick of European Cups, many have struggled to make an impression.

We assess Real's transfer business in the recent past.

2015-2016

Mateo Kovacic

Signed from Inter Milan; Transfer fee €29million (£26m)

Real were so optimistic Kovacic would be a success they handed him a six-year contract in the summer of 2015.

His versatility across the midfield proved attractive to Rafael Benitez, but his successor Zinedine Zidane thought differently and consigned him mainly to the bench.

So while Real won three Champions League titles on the bounce, Kovacic watched mainly from the sidelines, never quite able to force his way back into a winning team.

Even when Zidane quit, Kovacic was sent out on loan to Chelsea for the duration of this season. Given their ropey form, maybe they should kept hold of a man who helped Croatia to last summer's World Cup final.

Verdict: MISS

Danilo

Porto; €31.5m (£28.2m)

Real acquired one of the best right-backs in the world when they signed Brazilian Danilo from Porto in 2015.

He was a regular starter during his debut season at the Bernabeu but played second fiddle to Dani Carvajal in some of the more high-profile matches.

Indeed, it was only because Carvajal suffered an injury early in the 2016 Champions League final win over Atletico Madrid that he played a part in that occasion.

After featuring even less the following season, it was apparent Danilo was surplus to requirements and given Real got £26.5m when they sold him to Manchester City, it was a decent bit of business.

Verdict: MISS

Lucas Vazquez

Espanyol; €1m buy-back

Spanish winger Vazquez was a graduate of Real's academy and played several times for their 'B' and 'C' teams between 2010 and 2015.

He was sent out on loan to Espanyol for experience ahead of the 2014-15 season and impressed sufficiently for the Catalan club to buy him outright.

But incoming coach Benitez vetoed his sale, with Real exercising a buy-back option barely a month after selling him.

And Vazquez has proved himself a Real Madrid-worthy player ever since, playing regularly and contributing to their three European successes.

While not an automatic pick in every game, he has established himself as a regular presence and also won nine caps for Spain.

Verdict: HIT

Kiko Casilla

Espanyol; €6 million (£5.3m)

Another academy graduate brought back from Espanyol, albeit having been a regular between the sticks there for four seasons.

Following the departure of Iker Casillas to Porto, the Real No 1 shirt was up for grabs but Casilla would end up playing second fiddle to Keylor Navas.

There were a few times when it seems Zidane favoured him over Navas, but he has not been able to nail down the place full-time.

Now understudy to Thibaut Courtois, he has clocked up just 43 appearances for Real in four seasons with them and that tally looks unlikely to surge anytime soon.

Verdict: MISS

Jesus Vallejo

Real Zaragoza; €6 million (£5.3m)

The promising young centre-half had come through the ranks at Real Zaragoza before being snapped up by Real in the summer of 2015 and immediately loaned back.

He spent a season in the familiar surroundings of Zaragoza and then a year in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt, playing regularly in both spells.

It wasn't until 2017 that Vallejo was formally unveiled as a member of the Real squad and was handed the No 3 shirt, previously worn by Pepe.

Since then, Vallejo has made just 14 appearances but, still just 22, is earmarked as one for the future.

Verdict: JURY'S OUT

2016-2017

Alvaro Morata

Juventus; €30m buy-back (£27m)

Morata's Real Madrid story is a curious one and, in all honesty, not at all successful.

The striker came through the Bernabeu ranks, played for the Castilla team and was promoted into the first-team by Jose Mourinho as a teenager.

But he never made the kind of stunning impact likely to prolong his Bernabeu career and he was sold to Juventus in 2014 with a buy-back clause inserted into the deal.

It was in Italy that Morata started to flourish, scoring 27 goals in two seasons for a dominant Juventus team.

Morata memorably scored in both legs as Juventus overcame Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the 2014-15 Champions League, before losing to Barcelona in the final.

It was pretty inevitable Real exercised their buy-back option in 2016, paying £27m to get Morata back from Italian football.

While unable to depose Karim Benzema as the club's first-choice striker, Morata's 20 goals helped Real win La Liga and the Champions League.

It could have been the start of something special, but Chelsea's offer of £60m in the summer of 2017 was just too good to turn down.

Unfortunately, it's all been downhill from there really.

Verdict: MISS

2017-2018

Theo Hernandez

Atletico Madrid; €24m (£21.6m)

Real believed they were snatching a real talent from their neighbours Atletico when they signed French left-back Hernandez in the summer of 2017.

Though Hernandez had not appeared for the Atleti first team, he'd gained some useful top-flight experience during a season on loan at Alaves.

Signed quite expensively as a teenager, he is clearly regarded by Real as a future prospect and that was only encouraged by his performances in the 23 matches he played for them last season.

Given Marcelo's ownership of the left-back position, it made sense that Hernandez should go out on loan to Real Sociedad and pick up some more game time.

He is playing regularly there and, with Hernandez just 21 years of age, a bright future hopefully awaits him.

Verdict: JURY'S OUT

Dani Ceballos

Real Betis; €18 million (£16m)

Ceballos was another promising up-and-coming player poached from a La Liga rival, arriving for just over £16m from Real Betis in 2017 and penning a six-year deal.

Competition is fierce in the Real midfield and Ceballos was limited to 22 appearances, mostly just a few minutes from the bench, last season.

But he has already almost matched that total this season and has played more minutes, in what is a promising sign for the 22-year-old.

Again, he is a player with plenty of time to grow into the Real Madrid shirt and, as a full Spanish international, there's no reason why he won't have a bright future.

Verdict: JURY'S OUT

2018-2019

Thibaut Courtois

Chelsea; €35m (£31.5m)

Having wanted to return to Spain to be closer to his family, the Belgian's departure from Chelsea last summer turned out to be pretty acrimonious.

Courtois excelled for Belgium at the World Cup before going AWOL from Chelsea training to force through his move to the Bernabeu.

Joining the European champions should have been a step up the ladder, but his start to life in Spain has been rocky.

Criticised for a number of his early performances, Courtois has kept just eight clean sheets in 21 outings so far and conceded 27 goals.

Of course it is far too soon to write him off, but performances need to improve if he is to live up to his world class tag at the Bernabeu.

Verdict: JURY'S OUT

Alvaro Odriozola

Real Sociedad; €30m (£27m)

A trubulent start to the season, which saw manager Julen Lopetegui replaced by Santiago Solari at the end of October, hasn't been the best backdrop for Odriozola's first few months with the club.

His form at right-back for Sociedad had earned him international recognition by Spain and a transfer to the Bernabeu for a hefty sum of money.

Odriozola didn't get a look in initially but Solari seemingly has more faith in him and he has enjoyed a longer run in the side while being far from an automatic pick.

Steady progress has been made and his four assists stands up to comparison with the more establishing full-backs. Time will tell if he can kick on from here.

Verdict: JURY'S OUT

Vinicius Junior

Flamengo; €56m (£50m)

The most exciting signing Real made over the summer was Brazilian teenager Vinicius.

Signing the 18-year-old striker seemed to illustrate Real's new policy of acquiring some of the brightest prospects in world football rather than established stars.

In the post-Cristiano Ronaldo existence, Real are in need of a sprinkling of star quality and the youngster has shown glimpses of just that.

The club haven't been afraid to throw him into high-profile matches and he's already claimed his first Real goal and contributed a number of assists.

He has all the making of a fan favourite and is only going to get better.

Verdict: HIT

Mariano

Lyon; €23m (£20.6m)

Another prodigal son from the Real Madrid academy making a return.

Striker Mariano, 25, came through the Castilla ranks and made a decent introduction to the first-team under Zidane, scoring five times during the 2016-17 campaign.

He was then moved on to Lyon but the fact Real wrote into the terms a 35 per cent share of any future transfer fee suggested they fancied having him back some day.

After a prolific debut season in France, they decided that day was sooner rather than later and got him back for a cut-price fee, handing him the No 7 shirt vacated by Ronaldo. No pressure there then.

His impact second time around hasn't been as pronounced, with one goal in 10 (mostly substitute) outings so far.

But Real are in urgent need of goals and if Mariano can unlock defences, then he may well become a legend after all.

Verdict: JURY'S OUT