Il Resto del Carlino is reporting the Serie A side are tracking three players â attacking midfielder CĂ©sar Palacios, right-back David JimĂ©nez and left-sided centre-back Lamini Fati â as the Spanish club prepares to release a generation of reserve-team talent into the market.
Palacios, 21, is the highest-profile of the three. He has scored 14 goals and added five assists in the third tier with Castilla this season while also making appearances in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League under Ălvaro Arbeloa.
As reported, Osasuna and Como 1907 are the frontrunners for his signature, with Real Madrid's preferred deal structure â selling 50 per cent of rights and retaining a buyback clause â having already deterred Athletic Club. Bologna would be operating in the same market and would face the same structural complications.
Jiménez, 22, is a technically assured right-back who came through Real Madrid's youth system and spent last season on loan at Espanyol. Fati, 20, is a left-footed centre-back and younger brother of Barcelona's Ansu Fati. Both are contracted to Real Madrid and understood to be ready for sustained senior football.
The template for these deals is well established. Nico Paz was sold to Como with a buyback clause that Real Madrid have now exercised, while VĂctor Muñoz went to Osasuna on similar terms and has been revalued almost immediately following a strong debut season. Both represented significant net gains for the club while maintaining future control over the players.
Como are already in an advantageous position given their existing relationship with the Madrid academy â Jacobo RamĂłn also developed there â and their proximity to a first Champions League qualification further sweetens the proposition for any player looking to step up.