Jose Mourinho gives green light for Real Madrid to sign two defenders | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s summer is set to move at speed after the re-election of President Florentino Perez on Sunday night. The confirmation of his mandate means that he can now begin taking decisions, although in several cases that means executing decisions already taken.

Perez had announced Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate and Denzel Dumfries as his first two signings of the summer, and promised a €150m bid for a Galactico signing this week. He will also take on board the input of Jose Mourinho, who is set to become Real Madrid’s manager for a second time, with Los Blancos paying his €15m release clause. For his part, he is keen to see at least one more defender and another midfielder through the door, but is prioritising the backline as the primary area to fix this summer.

Mourinho gives green light for Gvardiol or Calafiori

Image via EFE

As explained by Diario AS, Mourinho has given the green light for Real Madrid to pursue the signings of Josko Gvardiol and Riccardo Calafiori. The latter only arrived at Arsenal last summer, but is not always a guaranteed starter, while Gvardiol is in talks with Manchester City over a new deal. He is keen to bring in one of them to play left-back, as he seeks a physically imposing player that can also drop into a back three with ease.

Gvardiol has been offered to Real Madrid in recent weeks, while Calafiori is familiar with Mourinho from their time at AS Roma together. The Portuguese manager gave Calafiori his first chances in senior football as an academy product at the Stadio Olimpico.

Real Madrid’s left-back situation

Image via El Desmarque

It likely means that there will have to be departures at left-back for Los Blancos, although if Mourinho decides to use three at the back, it could ease the need to do so. Ferland Mendy was in theory the first-choice at the position, but he has been injury-prone for much of the past two seasons. Meanwhile Fran Garcia has rarely been trusted as a starter, and Alvaro Carreras had a disappointing first season after a promising start, but seems the most likely to stay after his own €50m move from Benfica.