Real Madrid watching closely as Serie A giants enter three-way race for former academy star | OneFootball

Alvaro Arbeloa’s arrival as the Real Madrid first-team manager has changed a lot at the academy with several Castilla players now seeing a clear path to the first-team through merit.

That, however, was not the situation a couple of years ago and Los Blancos lost several top talents who were seen to have very high ceilings in a short span at the time.

One such player who left at the time despite being highly regarded in the circuit was Sergio Arribas, and the player has only continued his growth at Almeria.

Set for a bigger move

In a recent report relayed via AS, Arribas’s quality and development is being tracked by multiple top clubs and a transfer is far from ruled out, with Real Madrid keeping a close eye on developments.

Ajax, as relayed in recent weeks, is keen on signing the player and is joined in the race by Sporting CP from Portugal.

Sergio Arribas is a man in demand. (Photo by Rafa Babot/Getty Images)

Now, Roma also appear close to entering the race although their entry will be determined by the decision of their star player – Paulo Dybala. If the Argentine star decides to leave the club, the Italian side will come in pursuit of Arribas.

Real Madrid, for their part, are alert to any possible sale of the player as they retain 50% of his rights and thus are entitled to a reasonable windfall if such a development unfolds.

Almeria’s asking price, as it stands, appears set at close to €25 million which implies that Real Madrid may make around €12.5 million to €15 million if the deal goes through. 

So far this season, the 24-year-old star has made 33 appearances in the lower Spanish division and has 20 goals and seven assists to his name. He averages 2.3 key passes per game and has created nine big chances.