Real Madrid may have to get a move on if they want to sign Alvaro Morata back from Juventus, after it was revealed the summer of 2017 is the deadline for them to activate their buy-back clause.

Details of the forward’s contract have come to light via the Football Leaks website (h/t Ewan Roberts of Goal) as of late. In the document, various details are confirmed, including that Juve paid £15.7 million to sign Morata in 2014 and that if Los Blancos want him back, they’ll have to make a decision soon on whether to trigger the £23.5 million fee.

Here is a look at some of the Spaniard’s best moments at Juventus, where he has improved massively as a player:

Roberts outlines further details of what looks to be a pretty complex agreement between these two giants of European football:

If Morata only plays between 25 per cent and 50 per cent of matches, the fee drops to €25 million, and if he plays less than 25 per cent of official matches for Juve, then Madrid would only need to pay the €20 million they originally sold him for.

Incredibly, if Juve decide to sell Morata to another club before July 2017, they would have to compensate Madrid to the tune of €80 million (£62.9 million), which makes it highly unlikely that the 23-year-old will leave J-Stadium for any team other than Madrid over the next 18 months.

As we can see here, courtesy of WhoScored.com, after a difficult season Morata has rediscovered some of his best form in recent weeks, netting against rivals Inter Milan on Sunday:

Although things can change quickly in football, it’d be a big surprise to see Morata back in the all-white jersey again soon. While he has made significant strides as a footballer, he’s still not to the level required to oust the likes of Karim Benzema or Cristiano Ronaldo; he’ll surely prefer to remain with the Italian champions and get regular minutes.

Feasibly, Real could pay the money and look to sell Morata on. But having already made a significant career move at such an early age, the 23-year-old will surely understand that staying at Juventus, continuing to develop and, crucially, getting consistent football is the most logical decision at this juncture.

 

Jose Mourinho Wants Raphael Varane

According to Sport (h/t Alex Harris of the Daily Star), Jose Mourinho has already drawn up a shortlist of five defenders he would like to sign in the summer should he take over at Manchester United, and Real Madrid man Raphael Varane is one.

The piece states that Athletic Club’s Aymeric Laporte and Everton’s John Stones are two other young defenders the Portuguese is looking at, as well as Marc Bartra at Barcelona and Marquinhos from Paris Saint-Germain. Varane is also noted and would surely be the most difficult of all these deals to pull off.

Here’s a reminder of why Varane is rated as one of the game’s most exciting prospects and why Los Blancos would be extremely reluctant to sell him:

Varane has got the lot for a modern-day centre-back. The Frenchman is dynamic, an excellent reader of the game and unflappable in possession. At only 22, he is still prone to a few lapses, but it’s inevitable he’ll improve, and provided he continues developing, he will become the best defender in the world.

Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror noted that while Varane has struggled at times this term, he’s still performing well overall:

In previous seasons, when the Frenchman found himself behind Pepe and Sergio Ramos in the pecking order at centre-back, there may have been a slender chance of United getting a deal for Varane done. However, with the youngster establishing himself as the club’s premier defender, surely it’d be a waste of time for United to even consider a deal.

Granted, Mourinho did help nurture Varane’s precocious talent during his time as Los Blancos boss. But even with the Portuguese’s allure and United’s financial clout, Real simply won’t sell a player so vital to their future.

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