Nacho Fernandez, 32, has spent his entire career at the Santiago Bernabeu. Born in Madrid, he joined the club’s youth system at eleven and graduated to Castilla at the age of 19. He earned his first team debut two years later and has since played 275 games for the club, contributing among many things, even with 15 goals and 8 assists. He’s been part of the team that lifted five Champions Leagues.
He has proved himself an important player for Real Madrid as the years went by, earning the praise as a club loyal and being a very lovely figure for every Real Madrid fan. He kept his ways during the glorious 2021/22 campaign, featuring 42 times across all competitions under Carlo Ancelotti with Real Madrid lifting La Liga and the Champions League at the end. Nacho was one of the main figures due to his great passion, his ability to cover several roles in the defense and his bravery to adjust to situations and to face any opponent.
However, Nacho’s minutes are very likely to be reduced this coming campaign due to the arrival of Antonio Rudiger from Chelsea. This means that he’s been pushed back to fourth-choice centre-back behind David Alaba, Eder Militao and Rudiger. According to El Chiringuito de Jugones and Mundo Deportivo, Nacho isn’t thinking about leaving but has the summer to asses. His abilities, leadership, work ethic and of course what he has done, especially in these last few years, have not gone unnoticed, with a couple of teams seeing him as very suitable and reliable for their program and style of play.
Nacho has entered the final year of his contract with Real Madrid there have been speculations about his future at Real Madrid ahead of the summer transfer window. As per Eduardo Inda, Nacho is now attracting serious interest from Italy where AS Roma and Inter Milan are looking to sign him up. The Giallorossi, who won the UEFA Europa Conference League last season, are looking to add more solidity and experience to their roster. And manager Mourinho knows Nacho well, having handed him his senior debut at Real Madrid.
As for Inter Milan, they are running the risk of losing at least one of their three prized centre-halves this summer, with Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni all being subjected to moves away from the Giuseppe Meazza and with the sources of news claiming that one of them will certainly leave due to Inter’s needs to balance the financial obligations. Indeed, Skriniar is attracting serious interest from PSG and Chelsea with the Parisians in net advantage and very likely to close the deal soon in the upcoming days. Bastoni is constantly on the radars of Tottenham Hotspur with Antonio Conte as the main ambassador while de Vrij is having Manchester United and lately Chelsea as well, keeping the tabs on him.
On the other hand, Chelsea is also considering to invite the Spaniard in London to play in the Premier League. According to Bernabeu Digital, Nacho Fernandez has emerged as a transfer target for Chelsea, as they are hurrying to add reinforcements to their backline this summer. The Blues see the 32-year-old as a solid defender and a solution to their defensive conundrum.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have lost two first-choice centre-backs on free transfers this summer so they will try to sign two new defenders. Antonio Rudiger has joined Real Madrid while Andreas Christensen has moved to Barcelona. The futures of Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta are still unclear, leaving Chelsea in a spot of bother.
The Blues have been actively hunting for central defenders, with the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Matthijs de Ligt, Jules Kounde and Nathan Ake emerging firstly as potential targets. However the Londoners have already signed their first target, with Koulibaly already in London with the contract all done and officially signed. Now they need a second signing and Nacho suits their requirements.
Nacho has a year remaining on his contract with Madrid, and earlier reports claimed that he was set to sign an extension. Real Madrid, for their part, wish to keep hold of their versatile defender and club icon and are ready to hand him a new contract. However, The Spanish giants are ready to allow their long-serving player to make his choice and will not stand in his way should he decide to leave. So, it remains to be seen if the defender decides to stay as a one-club man and pen a new deal with Los Blancos or seeks a new challenge this summer. The interested teams need to make an official approach soon to ward off other suitors.
Comments