Report: Barbra Banda close to signing with Real Madrid

The regular season is over, which means that the coming weeks will be rife with transfer rumors. In my article in May, I listed all the players that were on Real Madrid’s radar at some point in the past year. The most recent player to have caught Real Madrid’s attention is Zambia striker Barbra Banda, and it looks like she is close to joining Las Blancas.

Oscar Moya Torrente was the first person to break down the reports of Banda being linked to Real Madrid. Now, according to Zambia’s Daily Mail, Barbra is very close to signing for the club.

What’s more, Zambia women’s national team coach Bruce Mwape himself confirmed on Thursday that the player was given a leave from the national camp preparing for the Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) in order to conclude her visa processes in order to play in Spain.

“Banda has been training with us. She has actually been excused because she has to go to Zimbabwe to get a visa. In Spain, she is likely to sign for Real Madrid as they have expressed interest in her,” Mwape stated.

It makes sense for Real Madrid to sign Banda. She is an explosive striker and someone who’s only 22. She scored back-to-back hat-tricks at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, becoming the first female player in Olympics history to score two hat-tricks in one tournament, and also the first female player to score back-to-back Olympics hat-tricks. One of those came in a 3-10 loss to women’s football powerhouse Netherlands.

Banda, who is currently playing for Shanghai Shengli in the Chinese Women’s Super League, is no stranger to Primera Iberdrola. She plied her trade at Logroño during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, scoring 15 league goals in 28 appearances. She will sign for Las Blancas as a much improved and well-rounded player.

She is a really explosive forward, who can play both as the focal point of the attack or as a winger. A skillful dribbler on the ball and a massive threat on transitions with her pace, Banda makes great runs into channels and in behind to latch onto through balls and can create something out of nothing on her own.

She is a real live wire without the ball, showing great work-rate in combination with her already noteworthy output. She has a very high ceiling and will certainly be one of the young players to watch out for in Spain and Europe in 2022-23.