Real Madrid deny Xabi Alonso request for January signing | OneFootball

Real Madrid have had a difficult first half of the season, as they trail Barcelona by four points in the La Liga title race. Xabi Alonso is fighting to save his job, so it is no surprise that he wants to do everything possible to ensure that he remains as head coach.

This involves strengthening his squad, which has been decimated buy injuries in regular intervals over the last few months. In particular, he wants to add another midfielder to his options for the second half of the campaign, as reported by COPE.

However, Alonso’s request for a new midfielder has been turned down by Real Madrid senior officials, who believe that the current options in the squad are more than good enough to see them through to next summer.

Image via DAZN

Real Madrid have Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Guler, Dani Ceballos and Fede Valverde as midfield options, although the latter is expected to play primarily as a right-back over the coming weeks. On paper, this is a world class set of players, but it is an area of the pitch where Los Blancos have struggled since August.

Alonso told to count on La Fabrica talents

As well as the senior options in the first team squad, Real Madrid officials see academy pair Thiago Pitarch and Jorge Cestero as two more players that Alonso can turn to over the next few months – this is another reason why the club has deemed it not necessary for a signing to be made.

It is not the first time that Real Madrid have ruled against their manager with a transfer decision. At the end of last season, Luka Modric was not offered a new contract, which led to him leaving on a free to join Milan. Alonso had wanted his former teammate to stick around at the Bernabeu, but it wasn’t to be.