It’s finally official – Jude Bellingham is a Real Madrid player.
The teenager’s move to the Santiago Bernabeu was confirmed on Wednesday, bringing an end to one of the year’s longest-running transfer sagas. Fortunately or unfortunately, it’s not the last that Los Blancos will be involved in this summer.
The sudden departure of the ageing Karim Benzema will force the club into fastening their striker succession plan. Luka Modric could also be heading for the same Saudi Arabian exit door.
Real Madrid have been blending youth and experience at extreme levels. It led to their La Liga and UEFA Champions League triumphs of 2021/22 but they alarmingly ran out of fuel a season later. For a club with their levels of expectation, now is the right time to refresh.
Bellingham, once fully fit again following a knee issue, will provide Carlo Ancelotti’s side with the energy and scruff-of-the-neck fearlessness they miss.
Real Madrid’s defence of their European crown ended with a whimper at Manchester City in May, and though Bellingham may not have excelled in the technical matchup, he would have at least fought for every inch unlike some of their weary veterans that evening.
Just in case the world needed any further proof, Real Madrid winning the race to sign one of football’s most prized up-and-coming assets showed their sustained superiority in the transfer market. When Los Blancos come calling, when Florentino Perez is at your door, when Sergio Ramos says you have ‘Real Madrid DNA’, your storyline only has one ending.
Bellingham’s through the door, joining the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde in a midfield department with their best years ahead of them.
Now’s the time to switch attentions to Kylian Mbappe, who has gone back-and-forth over his PSG future in the last 48 hours. What’s a near certainty is he won’t be there beyond 2024 and the window has perfectly opened for Real Madrid to nab him this summer.
If the club pursue another centre forward target, it would be harder to fit Mbappe into the fold next year. It’s already going to be a bit of a squeeze now, with the Frenchman preferring to play in Vinicius Junior’s cemented position and notably asking PSG in the past to sign a striker so he wouldn’t have to play there.
Mbappe and Real Madrid have long seemed destined to find each other. Now is the right time for them to finally meet on mutual terms.