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Isco is plastered on the front cover of Marca for their June 27th paper, with the statement “Guardiola Quiere A ISCO” (Guardiola Wants Isco). Apparently, Pep considers Isco as the ideal replacement for the soon to be outgoing David Silva. The latter, David Silva, recently announced that after 10 years at City, the 2019/2020 season would be his last at the club.
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The same report from Marca suggests that Isco has no intention of leaving Real Madrid. He spoke with Zidane after the season and was told that the he will be counted on for the following year. Though, the club itself will not close the door on any potential departure and would demand at least €80 million for Isco’s transfer. Pep has long been an admirer of Isco and his talents and feels he is the perfect fit for his philosophy.
Isco’s time at Real Madrid has been full of highs and lows. Though, arguably, no coach was able to get the best out of him, consistently, like Zinedine Zidane was in the past. In the 2016/2017 double winning season, Zidane changed the formation to accommodate Isco and place him in his most comfortable position, centrally just behind the strikers. Isco was one of the best players in the world during that spring of 2017. If Zidane can rekindle that form, then there is no doubting the player, but his inconsistent patches are a worry for many Madridista’s with a plethora of new talent knocking on the door for playing time, Isco will have to fight hard to remain at Real Madrid.