With Mourinho settled in as Real Madrid's new head coach and his initial shopping list completed through the signings of Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate, Bernardo Silva and Marc Cucurella, the club is now turning its attention to the outgoing side of the market.
While the arrivals were wrapped up in express fashion, closed inside a fortnight, the sales are expected to move at a far slower pace, particularly involving players already on the books.
Real Madrid managed to raise funds during the World Cup through the sales of Nico Paz, Victor Munoz, Mario Gila and Alvaro Rodriguez, and the club is now looking to repeat that approach with players who featured for the first team last season. The departures of Dani Ceballos and Fran Garcia have carried less financial weight, given Real Madrid held 50 per cent of the economic rights in several of the earlier deals.
The club is clear it needs to balance the books between transfer investment and money recovered through sales. Last summer, Real Madrid spent €178million on four signings and recouped nothing, with Lucas Vazquez, Jesus Vallejo and Luka Modric all leaving on free transfers. Only €78million banked from the Club World Cup and a further €30million from academy sales allowed the club to balance its accounts.
This summer there is no Club World Cup windfall to lean on, and Real Madrid's projected spending, even without Florentino Perez pulling off a move for Olise, is set to exceed €200million. Dumfries, Konate, Cucurella and Mourinho's own arrival already push the total past €100million, meaning the club needs to sell.
Two names currently dominate the list of potential departures: Asencio and Camavinga. To those could be added Endrick or Gonzalo Garcia, whichever proves less convincing to Mourinho during pre-season. For now, no major sale is planned and Fede Valverde is staying put.
A loan for Franco Mastantuono had also been considered, though that option has lost momentum recently. Were it to happen, which currently looks unlikely, it would resemble the deal struck in January involving Endrick and Olympique Lyonnais.
The problem is that all three players under consideration have contracts in place and none appears willing to leave easily, leaving Real Madrid facing a potential headache if both Camavinga and Asencio decide to stay and fight for their place under Mourinho.