Sevilla Favorites to Land Marcos Llorente

It is far from clear where Marcos Llorente fits into Zidane’s plans and what may come of his Real Madrid future. During the brief Santiago Solari tenure, Marcos was an undeniable bright spot. He cemented his starting position with the goal of the tournament in the Club World Cup Final against Al Ain. It had seemed that the 24-year-old was finally on track to get some significant minutes with his boyhood club and have an important role within the squad. Since Zidane’s return as first team manager, injuries have limited Llorente’s involvement to a lone start, with five games played thus far.

According to a report from El Confidencial, several clubs—Real Betis, Alaves, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Sevilla—are after Llorente’s signature, but it is the ladder whom lead the race. The report states that Sevilla’s financial power and the options to play in Europe have convinced Marcos.

Zidane was asked about Marcos Llorente in a recent press conference and spoke highly of the player, but stated he did need minutes in order to continue his development. “He needs to play more. He was phenomenal with Alaves” Zidane affirmed. If Llorente is to depart the club, Zidane’s words make it seem more than likely that said departure will be via a loan move or a sale with a buy-back clause.