Jose Mourinho dream Real Madrid signings revealed as 'Arsenal star tops list' | OneFootball

Portuguese hoping to revolutionise porous defence

Jose Mourinho has told Real Madrid his summer transfer demands, with a popular Arsenal star topping the bill.

And he will have plenty of work to do on arrival after Los Blancos slumped to a rare trophyless campaign.

Per reports in Spain, he has decided that defence is the biggest problem area he must work on, but Real have been working on bringing in reinforcements long before Mourinho’s arrival.

Deals for Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries and ex-Liverpool free agent Ibrahima Konate have already been wrapped up, while the veteran Antonio Rudiger has agreed a contract extension.

But Mourinho will not be satisfied with that, and has demanded Perez land him one of two Premier League targets.

Marca report he is keen to work with either Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori or Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol.

Transfer target: Riccardo Calafiori

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Mourinho is reportedly impressed by both men’s positional versatility, as he hopes to rotate between a back-three and back-four system on the fly.

The report adds that he considers Trent Alexander-Arnold to be too attack-minded, and wants to add more balanced players to his squad.

It remains to be seen whether he will be able to pry Calafiori away from the Emirates.

Arteta is thought to be fond of the Italian, but he is somewhat injury-prone and Arsenal may be tempted to cash in as a result.

The 24-year-old, meanwhile, is under contract until 2029 and has made no secret of his desire to move back to former club Roma one day.

He came through the academy ranks of the Giallorossi, but his sale to Basel in 2022 was rubber-stamped by Mourinho himself.

Gvardiol, however, is seen as a near-impossible deal to pull off, given City signed him for €90m just three years ago and he remains one of the top-performing defenders in the Premier League.