Roma boss Mourinho to target two Real Madrid players in January
Martin Macdonald
- 4 Nov 2021 04:03 CDT
- 5 min read
Roma boss Jose Mourinho will aim to bolster his squad in the January transfer window by targeting two Real Madrid players.
The Portuguese head coach, who was in charge of Los Blancos between 2010 and 2013, will attempt to sign both Dani Ceballos and Nacho, according to Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport.
Ceballos spent the last two seasons on loan at Arsenal but didn't do enough to warrant a permanent deal, with the Gunners instead opting to purchase Real Madrid team-mate, Martin Odegaard, in the summer of 2021 instead.
Though often deployed as a central midfielder, the Spaniard's return of just two goals and five assists in two seasons in North London wasn't particularly inspiring.
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He would return to Madrid in the summer, but he has yet to see a single minute of La Liga football under current head coach Carlo Ancelotti.
In fact, he hasn't made an appearance in any competition as of yet.
Mourinho is hoping to take advantage of his lack of playing time to land Ceballos on a loan deal until the end of the season.
That deal seems a lot more likely than any swoop for centre-back, Nacho, however.
Nacho has never been a key member of the first-team squad at Santiago Bernabeu but remains a solid performer, while he is also capable of playing at right-back as well as in the centre.
Real Madrid have played 11 matches in the league so far and he has started seven of them.
He has never been outright first choice in recent years due to the presence of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, but the departures of that duo bumped him up the pecking order even after the arrival of David Alaba.
It is unlikely Real Madrid would accept any approach from Mourinho for Nacho due to his first-team commitments, especially on loan.
Mourinho's start with Roma
In the summer, Roma spent over €100 million on new recruits, including Tammy Abraham, Marash Kumbulla, Eldor Shomurodov, Matías Vina, Rui Patricio, Roger Ibanez and Bryan Reynolds.
Crucially, none of those recruits are central midfielders which is why Mourinho perhaps wants to bring in Ceballos.
Kumbulla is a centre-back, but he has only made one substitute appearance this season, which is why Nacho is being targeted.
Mourinho has made a relatively positive start to life back in Serie A as Roma are currently situated fourth.
They have won six out of their opening 11 matches, with Napoli, Milan and Inter currently ahead.
In the Europa Conference League, they are second in Group C, but were recently demolished 6-1 by FK Bodø/Glimt.
