How Real Madrid will line up with Mbappe AND Bellingham

Stuart Telford

• 11 May 2023 16:00 BST
• 3 min read

Real Madrid are reportedly planning a sensational double swoop for Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham this summer. How would they line up with both players on their books?

Real thought they had agreed terms with Mbappe last year before he U-turned to sign a new three-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

But the final year on that deal is optional, and there is now pressure on PSG to sell this summer rather than losing their talisman on a free transfer next.

Bellingham has been Madrid's top transfer target since, and the England midfielder is understood to be close to agreeing a move to the Santiago Bernabeu from Borussia Dortmund, leaving Premier League suitors disappointed.

How would Real Madrid lie up with Mbappe AND Bellingham?

Mbappe and Bellingham both have another decade at the top, injury permitting, and from a branding point of view their arrivals this summer would make perfect sense. But Mbappe might be a difficult tactical fit, for a season at least.

Mbappe's favourite position is on the left-hand side of the attack, with a target man to play off. In Karim Benzema, they have the latter, but in Vinicius Junior, they also have someone in his way on the left flank.

Vinicius and Mbappe provide incredible pace, and they could switch wings on the fly next season. Mbappe could ultimately inherit his former France teammate's role right up front, which would see Federico Valverde or Rodrygo restored to the right-hand side.

Further back, Bellingham would slot right into Real's three-man midfield, and he is reportedly excited about the prospect of refining his craft alongside midfield masters Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.

Modric and Kroos are, like Benzema, set for one more season at the Bernabeu, but Bellingham will have elite company in the engine room for a generation beyond in Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga - provided the Frenchmen don't grow frustrated on the bench or at left-back before then.