Real Madrid want €60m Spanish ‘gem’ as glittering first Jose Mourinho signing – report | OneFootball

Real Madrid are battling rivals Atletico Madrid to make Spain U21 starlet Jon Martin the first new arrival of Jose Mourinho’s second spell in charge, a report has claimed.

Mourinho has agreed to return to Real Madrid in a stunning turn of events. The Portuguese icon will leave Benfica this summer to try and arrest the growing disorder in the Bernabeu dressing room.

Club president Florentino Perez has tasked Mourinho with getting players such as Kylian Mbappe, Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Carreras to buck their ideas up and help Madrid start winning major trophies once again.

Mourinho will also need to get the fans back on board, particularly with the likes of Mbappe and Valverde.

Los Blancos see central defence as an area of the squad that needs strengthening and have entered the tussle for breakout Real Sociedad star Martin, according to new reports in the Spanish media.

Martin has been ‘one of the great revelations of the season’ in LaLiga, and his classy performances have sparked ‘very serious interest’ from Madrid.

Madrid are ‘gearing up for a battle’ with Atleti after ‘closely monitoring’ and scouting Martin’s development this campaign.

Madrid chiefs see the 20-year-old as a ‘perfect’ signing for their long-term project, believing he can ‘lead their defence for the next decade’.

However, Atleti are huge admirers of the right-footed defender too and are planning transfer talks of their own.

Martin is the new ‘gem’ of Sociedad’s squad, and they will therefore demand his full €60million (£52m) release clause before sanctioning a sale.

That is clearly big money for a player with just a season-and-a-half of LaLiga experience, but Madrid and Atleti know the Spain U21 international has massive potential and could therefore pay it.

Real Madrid keen on Jon Martin

Martin is a modern centre-half who is comfortable playing out from the back but also has the strength and pace needed to keep opposition strikers at bay.

He is 6ft 1in tall and excels in the air, while having also been praised for his reading of the game and tackling ability.

Separate reports have tipped Mourinho to initiate a move for Manchester City midfielder Rodri, a long-term target of Madrid’s.

However, our friends at TEAMtalk have revealed that City director of football Hugo Viana is making an aggressive push to keep Rodri.

The Independent have sensationally claimed Mourinho ‘would love’ to reunite with his former Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, who is currently on loan at Barcelona.

Hansi Flick’s side have the option to sign Rashford permanently for €30m (£26m), though they are trying to engineer another season-long loan.

Despite rumours of Mourinho’s interest, it would be a huge surprise if Rashford joined Madrid as he is loving life at Barca and wants to sign for them permanently.