Real Madrid Femenino have already secured a place in the UEFA Women’s Champions League for next season, with their next game against Primera champions Iberdrola Barcelona Femení in the Copa de la Reina semi-finals on Wednesday.
With Las Blancas hoping to reach their first-ever Copa de la Reina final with their first-ever victory over their rivals, attention has already turned to next season, and several names are already linked with a move to Madrid. in summer.
Let’s take a look at all the players rumored to be on Real Madrid Femenino’s radar since the start of the season.
Jenni Hermoso (Forward, Barcelona)
The greatest goalscorer in the history of Spanish women’s football and the Barcelona Femení, Jenni Hermoso would be a welcome addition to the Real Madrid Femenino.
The 32-year-old’s contract expires with Barcelona in June 2022, and according to AS’s Mayca Jiménez, Las Blancas could swoop in for the striker. Hermoso was the UEFA Women’s Champions League top scorer in the 2020-21 season, where the Blaugranes won the treble. She also finished second in the Women’s Ballon d’Or rankings in 2021.
However, while we would love to have a Champions League winner at Real Madrid Femenino, it looks like Hermoso will stay at Barcelona.
“We had conversations with Madrid before, but it never went any further. I always felt Barca at home. Hermoso said in an interview with SER Catalunya in January.
Laia Aleixandri (Central Defender, Atlético Madrid)
According to that same report by Mayca Jiménez, Real Madrid Femenino were monitoring Laia Aleixandri, who is a 21-year-old centre-back playing for Atlético Madrid Femenino.
Aleixandri played 140 games for the club, winning the Primera Iberdrola twice (2017-18, 2018-19) and the Supercopa Feminina in 2020-21. The young defender has eight caps with the Spanish national team, while also succeeding at age group level.
Aleixandri’s contract ends in June 2022 and has recently been linked with Manchester City Women, so it remains to be seen if Real Madrid Femenino will be in the running for the player.
Tessa Wullaert (Forward, RSC Anderlecht)
“There have been contacts with Atlético and Real (Madrid), but who knows. It will depend if we reach an agreement with a team, but I would like to play in Spain,” Anderlecht’s goal-scoring machine Wullaert told AS in April.
The 29-year-old has scored 62 league goals in 42 games (according to stats on globalsportsarchives.com) for Anderlecht. Wullaert is also on a blistering goal streak for Belgium women, scoring 15 goals in 8 games in UEFA’s qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, more than anyone.
Wullaert has experience playing for Manchester City Women and VfL Wolfsburg Women, reaching the UWCL final twice with the latter. With Real Madrid already having Nahikari García and Esther González (who finished as the team’s top scorer this season), adding Wullaert to the mix would be interesting. She has made her desire to play in Spain very clear and would definitely be a good addition to the current squad as she is a consistent goalscorer.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Forward, Paris Saint-Germain)
You’d be surprised by the number of forwards Real Madrid Femenino are looking for, but that’s the way it is. They want to add a No. 9 superstar to their ranks, someone who can bolster the forward line immediately and play at the top level for years to come. Marie-Antoinette Katoto of PSG is “the” player who perfectly meets these requirements.
A world-class striker and one of the best in the business when it comes to goalscoring, Katoto became PSG’s all-time top scorer at just 23 years old. She has 98 goals and 26 assists in just 96 league appearances, quite incredible numbers for someone so young, especially considering the fact that those numbers were produced in one of the women’s leagues. most difficult in the world.
RMC Sport’s Anthony Rech reported in March that Katoto – whose contract with PSG ends in June – wanted a way out due to her PSG team-mate Kheira Hamraoui being attacked by two masked men on her way home after dinner.
PSG tried to renew Katoto’s contract, but Katoto is ready to try new pastures.
“There are many reasons why we don’t agree,” Katoto told the French outlet. AFP. “I am open to anything, whether abroad or in France. There is a lot of discussion [with interested clubs], many considerations and I thank them. I didn’t think there would be so many.
“I am very open, for the moment the discussions are going well, very well even. The next choice I will make will be the right one I hope. It will be an important moment in my career. »
Let’s hope Real Madrid Femenino wins the race for her signature as she can help secure the No.9 position for the next 8-10 years.
Caroline Weir (central midfielder), Lucy Bronze (right-back), Keira Walsh (defensive midfielder) (Manchester City)
The highly talented trio of Weir, Walsh and Bronze are already high on Las Blancas’ shopping list for the next season.
Caroline Weir, as The Telegraph’s Tom Garry reports, is all but confirmed as a Real Madrid player next season. The official announcement, according to the same report, will not be released until later this summer.
Weir would arrive on a free transfer as his contract with the FA WSL outfit expires in the summer. The 26-year-old is a fantastic attacking midfielder who can also play as a striker at times. In a Real Madrid Femenino midfield that doesn’t produce many goals, Weir would be a breath of fresh air as she has an eye for goal, especially from distance.
To introduce you to Lucy Bronze, I will tell you that she is one of the best right backs in the world. Not only is she a brilliant defender, but she also poses a threat to opposing defenses when she charges towards the final third. The 30-year-old Englishwoman could be strong competition for Kenti Robles. However, the right-back has been linked with a move to the National Women’s Super League (NWSL, the top flight of the United States), so let’s see how that goes in the coming weeks. She would also arrive for free,
Keira Walsh is a defensive midfielder who plays as a sole pivot for Manchester City Women. Walsh signed a three-year extension with City in 2020 which would keep her at the club until the end of the 2022-23 season, so Real Madrid will have to pay some, probably a few hundred thousand euros, to acquire the service. of Walsh.
Is it worth the money? Absolutely. No one has a higher success rate than Walsh in the WSL over the past year, according to FBRef. And even though she is a defensive midfielder, you have to be careful with her pyrotechnics.
Real Madrid Femenino have been keen on buying a defensive midfielder for quite some time now. Tom Garry tweeted in November 2021 that the club were after Swedish defensive midfielder Freja Olofsson, offering Racing Louisville €100,000 for his signing. Although that signing couldn’t materialize, let’s hope the club can get Walsh because 1) she’s a huge improvement over Olofsson, with all due respect and, 2) she’s a player wonderful, and one that will bring a lot of balance to the team. Midfielder.
Kathellen Sousa (Central Defender, Women’s Inter)
There are rumors that a player who could have joined CD Tacón (as Real Madrid Femenino was known during the 2019-20 season) in 2019 would join Las Blancas this summer.
In a report from MARCA’s David Benayo, who also said the club would be looking to sign Sandie Toletti from Levante and Naomie Feller from PSG, it was mentioned that the Brazilian centre-back would be brought in to fill the void left by Babett Peter, who will be retiring from all football after an illustrious career (thanks for everything, Babett!).
Sousa is one of the tallest central defenders in the world at six feet tall, so she would definitely bring some sort of X-Factor to the core of defence. Her contract with Inter ends in June, so she will be signed for free.
Sandie Toletti (Central Midfielder, Levante)
One of the best midfielders in the league, Toletti already had a pre-agreement with Real Madrid Femenino conditional on the team qualifying for the UEFA Women’s Champions League next season. Now that a place has been secured, the transfer is expected to be completed in the coming weeks. His contract with Levante expires on June 30.
Toletti is known for her vision and range of passing, as well as her adaptability to thrive in different midfield roles. That kind of versatility, in addition to his familiarity with Primera Iberdrola, would be a huge boost for Real Madrid’s shallow midfielder Femenino.
Naomie Feller (Forward, Paris Saint-Germain)
Listed by UEFA as one of the players to watch in 2022, the promising striker is seen by the club as someone who could play a role in both the club’s present and future, like Katoto.
She possesses the ability to play in multiple positions in attack which is certainly an exciting prospect for Las Blancas, not to mention her jaw-dropping speed. She is one of the fastest young players in Europe.
She has to work on her productivity because she hasn’t managed to score many goals. But considering she’s only 20, the Real Madrid Femenino might be willing to bet on the player who is believed to have a bright future ahead of her.
Adriana Leon (winger, West Ham United)
Real Madrid linked up with this player when David Ornstein of The Athletic said in one of his columns that Madrid had turned their attention to Canada international Adriana Leon.
On top of that, an article from The Sun claimed that Leon was being watched by Real Madrid Femenino, Barcelona Femení and another English club as the player canceled her contract with the club. Meanwhile, West Ham Women have offered him a two-year extension.
As Om Arvind stated in his post last week, this rumor makes no sense. The player isn’t that wanted, and the interest in Barcelona makes it harder to believe the reports. But having the timing of this news coincide with the shocking revelation made by journalist Carlos Alvarez on Twitter made sense:
Atleti junto in Cardona. 98%
— Carlos Alvarez (@CarlosTuilla) May 16, 2022
Barbra Banda (Forward, Shanghai Shengli Women)
Oscar Moya Torrente has reported that Real Madrid have also made contact with Zambian striker Barbara Banda, who plays in the Chinese League. Managing Madrid received similar information and heard that these links will be relayed by other journalists tomorrow.
As for Banda, she is a power forward who is good at finishing, good at heading, has good movement off the ball, possesses very good speed and is a physically astute striker. She is the first player in Olympic Games history to score two hat tricks in a tournament, and also the first player to score consecutive hat tricks at the Olympic Games. She also has 22 goals with the Zambia women’s national team.
We’ll say more about Barbra Banda’s potential move to Real Madrid Femenino as more details emerge.
That’s about it with this roundup of transfer rumours. I hope you all enjoyed reading this article. Which players would you like/not want to see at Real Madrid next season?