Matteo Moretto gives Football España exclusive information on the latest deals dominating the papers in Spain, as revealed in Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing.
Ceballos just renewed his contract with Real Madrid until 2027 last summer, and so an exit this summer will not be easy. As we reported recently, he will have a meeting with the club to discuss whether to leave or to stay.
What is beyond doubt, is that Ceballos does not have anything signed with anyone, despite rumours of a pre-contract with Atletico, and he does not have an agreement with anyone either.
There is a lot of talk, but the reality is that there is interest, but nothing concrete – his future will depend on that conversation and what he decides with Real Madrid. Until that happens, it’s hard to speak to any current interest.
The truth behind the Atletico story is that Ceballos was someone that they liked before he decided to renew his contract with Real Madrid last summer, but that’s where all of the talk is coming from, not fresh interest.
Starting with Vitor Roque, he has not had many minutes with Barcelona since he arrived (310 across 13 appearances), and Xavi Hernandez would like him to have more. But clearly, if he cannot get them at Barcelona, then he could be playing elsewhere. We have to consider the desires of the player though too, because right now, Roque has not given the green light to a loan, and the only thing on his mind is to stay and be successful at Barcelona.
He still has to have a conversation with Barcelona, and discuss things properly, and that will be decisive one way or another, that’s the genuine truth of the matter. They have to find the best course of action for everyone. The fact that Xavi is staying, clearly he hasn’t used him much, and it will be a conversation including Xavi, the sporting department at Barcelona and the player.
With Robert Lewandowski, it will depend on the offers that come in for him. It’s absolutely true that Lewandowski wants to stay, and he is happy at Barcelona, but if a big offer from Saudi Arabia or MLS comes in for him, maybe they consider it. It all hinges on what is on the table, but he is happy where he is.
There is no doubting the quality of Alex Baena, he is a top player and one that I love, he has lots of technical quality and personality too.
Aston Villa are following him closely, Unai Emery is in love with him, he was the manager that first trusted him at Villarreal, and he wants to sign him.
Baena has a release clause of €60m, but I’ve been informed that he could leave for a lower fee, somewhere between €30-40m potentially, so he will be an interesting name to keep an eye on during the transfer market no doubt.