The revolving door at Real Madrid never stops working, and that means recently bought players possibly leaving at any time. One of them is Asier Illarramendi, with Arsenal and Liverpool on alert to try and sign him once he becomes available.
The 25-year old Basque midfielder was signed by Real Madrid in 2013 for €32 million, but that price tag, unlike on most clubs around Europe, doesn’t promise a player anything, and certainly not minutes. He did appear 49 times in all competitions for Real Madrid last season, but that was because of Xabi Alonso’s long term injury. He has appeared 33 times this season (a lot of them off the bench), but if it wasn’t for Luka Modric’s injuries, he wouldn’t have been on the pitch for so long.
Marca reports that if Carlo Ancelotti is staying, Illarramendi can start looking for another club because the Italian manager isn’t a very big fan of his. Illarramendi is a useful defensive midfielder, but struggles when it comes to passing or dictating pace and play, not living up to the standards of Alonso, Modric or Toni Kroos. Alonso isn’t playing anymore with Real Madrid, sold to Bayern Munich, but that hasn’t helped Illarramendi get a bump up the club’s hierarchy.
And with Real Madrid looking to sell like we’ve seen them do over the last couple of summers, Premier League teams are bound to be appearing with an offer or two. Arsenal have been fans of the player since his days at Real Sociedad. Liverpool are a more recent option, but they’re willing to spend money as last summer has proven, which makes them strong competitors for Illarramendi.
It’s too soon to say what factors come into play and whether or not there’s actually something to talk about, but just like Alexis Sanchez preferred signing with Arsenal and not just because of the Champions League, factoring in the whole playing in London angle, Liverpool have an uphill battle in front of them once again to convince players from big clubs to sign for them, especially if they don’t finish in the top 4 this season.