After the second galactico era last summer, when Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso were signed at great expense, it seems Real Madrid have taken stock and are investing sensible sums in players who are not such household names.
President Florentino Perez was the man responsible for the above signings, but new coach Jose Mourinho was never going to join a club where the transfer policy is completely out of his hands. The result of the Portuguese tactician's move to the Bernabeu has been a suspension of that second galactico era and a clutch of signings that make sense.
Excellent young Germany holding midfielder Sami Khedira has moved from Stuttgart, winger Angel Di Maria has arrived from Benfica and playmaker Mesut Ozil is the most recent acquisition from Werder Bremen. Here are three players under the age of 23, two of which starred for Germany at the World Cup, who cost less combined than Kaka did last summer.
Di Maria looks slightly overpriced at a fee believed to be in the region of $30 million, but Khedira (at a reported $18 million) and Ozil (at a reported $19 million) will prove excellent value.
Youngsters Pedro Leon (Getafe) and Sergio Canales (Racing Santander) have both arrived, while one of Mourinho's trusted lieutenants Ricardo Carvalho will help out at the back.
Mourinho has brought down the average age of his squad, and will need to cut numbers before the window closes. One or two from Rafael van der Vaart, the Diarras and Fernando Gago may leave in the next couple of weeks.
This infusion of youth may help to ensure that Real do not run out of steam in the second round of the Champions League where they have exited in each of the last six seasons.
While Real have hardly been frugal under Mourinho, their signings represent a shift away from the days of buying overpriced strikers and attacking midfielders with little consideration for the rest of the team.
Follow me on Twitter
Jasper Juinen / Getty Images
Comments