José Mourinho has already approved the arrivals of centre-back Ibrahima Konaté, left-back Marc Cucurella, right wing-back Denzel Dumfries and attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva, and now wants a ball-playing defensive midfielder to complete his midfield rebuild. The club's board is willing to back him but acknowledges the cost will be significant.
The Elliot Anderson transfer to Manchester City — reported at around €150m — has driven up valuations across the midfield market, making the task more expensive than originally anticipated.
Among the options under consideration are Chelsea's Enzo Fernández (valued at €130m), West Ham United's Mateus Fernandes (€90m), Ayyoub Bouaddi of Lille, Félix Nmecha of Borussia Dortmund, Brighton's Carlos Baleba, AZ's Kees Smit, Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton and Rodri Hernández of Manchester City. PSG midfielders Joao Neves and Vitinha are considered effectively unattainable.
Mourinho is understood to have begun conversations with all his players over their futures as the club maps out the financial equation that will determine which deal they can pursue.
The decision over which player to sell will fall to Mourinho, who has started the relevant conversations with his squad. Valverde remains one of the most complete midfielders in European football, while Tchouaméni and Camavinga have both struggled to nail down consistent roles. The player whose departure generates the right fee — and whose exit opens the most room in the squad — will determine who stays and who goes.
Real Madrid's ability to bring in a top midfielder at this stage of the summer depends entirely on resolving that equation before clubs who need no such financial balancing act move ahead of them.