Dani Ceballos of Arsenal in action during the UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg match between Arsenal FC and Olympiacos FC at Emirates Stadium on February 27, 2020 in London. (Getty Images)
According to Mundo Deportivo (h/t The Sun), Juventus have joined the race to sign Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos.
Ceballos currently plies his trade with English side Arsenal after he was sent on a season-long loan by his parent club Madrid last summer. However, he has failed to make a major impact for the North London side, mostly due to injuries, and is expected to return to Spain at the end of this year’s campaign.
Despite the midfielder failing to impress at the Emirates, he has won the hearts of the Gunners’ fans, whose side clearly lack a creative player in their midst. Yet, his future remains an uncertainty, with the Mikel Arteta-led side yet to announce anything substantial regarding the Spaniard’s stay.
Meanwhile, Serie A giants Juventus have come in the fray after they announced that they are willing to pay the 23-year-old’s asking price of £35million. No other club has so far come up with such an offer, which might prompt Real Madrid to offload their young midfielder, who is deemed surplus to requirements by current Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane.
Despite being a mainstay at his former side Real Betis at a very young age, Ceballos has failed to break into the first-team at Madrid, whom he joined in the summer of 2017. With the likes of star midfielders such as Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Casemiro and Isco already in the side, Ceballos found his chances increasingly limited at the Santiago Bernabeu.
This had forced the La Liga giants to offload their young talent to pastures new in search of more game time. However, with injuries limiting his displays at the Emirates, Ceballos’ career has now once again suffered a setback. A regular within his former side Betis, Ceballos’ has now become a shadow of his former self, with his on-pitch displays suffering a sudden dip in form.
Moreover, being on the sidelines for so long seems to have affected the Spanish midfielder’s morale as he has failed to impress even when given chance. Ceballos has managed just 24 appearances for the Gunners this season across all competitions. To make things even worse, he has managed just one goal and provided two assists so far for Arteta’s side.
However, despite this, the Turin-based outfit are willing to secure his signature with the side’s creative midfielder Miralem Pjanic attracting interests from abroad. Meanwhile, Zidane’s Real Madrid already has as many as eight midfielders in their rank and bringing back Ceballos at this point definitely does not seem the best of options.
Though veterans Modric (34) and Kroos (30) have already started showing signs of ageing, Zidane has already found a replacement for them in Federico Valverde.
The youngster has been earning rave reviews in Spain with his standout displays for the Galacticos. Also, Madrid recently bought upcoming Brazilian talent Reinier Jesus from Flamengo in January to bolster their squad for the future. That said, it is best if Madrid continue to invite offers for Ceballos and offload him as soon as possible.
Real Madrid already look strong in the midfield and has enough players in the mix. Hence, Ceballos just seems surplus to their requirements. Also, despite arriving two years back, the Spaniard has still failed to nail down a regular spot. So letting him go seems like the safest option for the Spanish giants.
