Open Thread: November 18, 2021

The Open Thread/Daily Merengue is a place where you can discuss anything and everything related to football. Feel free to discuss the topics presented here, or start your very own discussions! The Open thread will be posted every day by one of the mods: Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, YoSnail, Ezek Ix or NeRObutBlanco.

Summer Transfer Speculation

According to MarioCortegana (Via MadridXtra), the Real Madrid board and scouts are planning for a summer of transfers in several areas.

This makes sense because it will be after this season that Real Madrid will have a number of contracts off its hands.

Supposing for a moment that you are Juni Calafat (Real Madrid’s head scout, or at least one of them), give your best advice to the board for building Real Madrid in the short and long term by selecting your priority signings. Feel free to explain why you made that decision, or add anything else you may wish such as players not mentioned. If there are any other positions or questions that you would like to see polled, suggestions will be taken into consideration.

FROM AS: Real Madrid makes progress in resolving the issue of non-EU roster spots.

Real Madrid find a solution to non-EU quota conundrum

The transfer policy which Real Madrid have followed over the past few seasons has generated problems when it comes to fitting in players who do not have EU citizenship. The arrival of players like Vinicius, Rodrygo, Militão, Kubo and Reinier in the space of three years took the club past the quota meaning they couldn’t register all of them. It also affected future signings, as the technical department had to rule out bringing in more non-EU players as there is no room for them. However, a solution may be just around the corner, or at least that is what is hoped in the back offices at the Bernabéu.

According to Spanish law, any individual born in another country who is seeking a Spanish passport must have lived in Spain for a minimum of 10 years uninterrupted. However that does not apply to those born in any of the Latin American countries, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, the Philippines and Portugal, who can apply for a Spanish passport if they have spent two years living and working in Spain. Three Real Madrid players have already been through the process and have their passport - Casemiro, Marcelo and Fede Valverde (the latter received his in 2019).

Of those who are still waiting to have their application processed, Vinicius will be the first to gain dual nationality. His case has dragged on longer than expected due to the disruption and delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He started the process in July 2020, hoping that it would take about a year for all the paperwork to be admitted and approved. But bureaucracy is slowing things down. Both the club and the player have been patient and hope that the matter will be resolved as soon as possible, but they cannot understand why the administrative part is taking so long when they have complied with all of the requisites in order for Vinicius to get his passport. They are confident that it will be sorted out by the end of this season.

Next in the queue are Rodrygo and Militão. Both arrived in Spain in July 2019, so they could start the ball rolling with their applications over the summer. Both of them have submitted the first documents required to begin the process and are waiting for a response from authorities. Diario AS understands that both players should have their new Spanish passports for the start of next season if everything goes according to plan. If not, the club is also considering that their situations will be resolved by the end of 2022 at the latest.

LaLiga.com recognizes Alaba’s leadership for Los Blancos

This was a pretty well-earned acknowledgement. What traits stand out with Alaba physically are his sleekness, mobility, elegance and power. What a brilliant signing that was by Perez and the board. Credit to Alaba for setting his dreams high. Credit also to Ancelotti for seeing how his nature fits the ball-progressing center back role and for allowing him through starter selections to become ensconced in that position. Remember, Alaba is only getting underway for Los Blancos and already he is among the most consistent performers. The ceiling for Real Madrid under his leadership is high, as the understanding between him and the rest of the team only improves and there seems to be no major problems.

It’s always a good moment to check out his Clasico goal again:

Real Madrid eyeing River Plate forward Julian Alvarez

We know how these items of information go. They come out often when club representatives are taking a look at a player and they could mean many things, from scouts doing their due diligence to Real Madrid working their influence on the market. Alvarez is 5 feet, 7 inches and 21 years of age.

From MARCA:

lvarez has scored 15 goals and provided six assists for River in 16 games to this point, and curiously he had a brief spell in Los Blancos’ academy as a child.

“He spent a month in Madrid. He made such a difference playing here that they came to see him from everywhere,” Claudio Gorgerino, the mayor of Calchin, Alvarez’s hometown, told Infobae.

“He would overpower his opponents. He’d go left or right and get into the box.”

Real Madrid Femenino play PSG tomorrow