Real Madrid have no intention of making a quick profit on striker Alvaro Morata after the Uefa Champions League winners opted to take him back to the Bernabeu from Juventus last month, the Spanish side's manager Zinedine Zidane has said.
Real sold Morata to Juventus two seasons ago but included a buy-back clause in his contract, which they exercised in July after the forward scored 27 goals in 93 games in Italy and three for Spain during the European Championship.
Media reports in Spain and Britain suggested that Real would cash-in on the 23-year-old by selling him on immediately, with Arsenal and Chelsea said to be vying for his signature, but Zidane insisted Morata was part of his plans.
“Yes, Morata is a Real Madrid player,” he told reporters in Michigan following his team’s 3-2 win over Chelsea in the International Champions Cup at the weekend.
“We’re delighted to have him back, back to his original home. He’s going to remain a Real Madrid player.”
Riyad Mahrez ‘distracted’ by transfer talk, says Claudio Ranieri
Speculation about a possible transfer to Premier League rivals Arsenal has unsettled Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez, manager Claudio Ranieri has said.
The 25-year-old Algeria international, who signed from Ligue 2 side Le Havre in 2014, has become a hot property after scoring 17 league goals and winning the PFA Player of the Year during Leicester’s remarkable title-winning campaign.
Leicester have already had to fight off advances from Arsenal to keep striker Jamie Vardy, but lost midfielder N’Golo Kante to Chelsea for a reported fee of 32 million pounds ($42.38 million).
“Maybe Riyad is distracted a bit by all of these rumours and speculation,” Ranieri told British media. “But that is also an experience for my players. It is important that he understands that he should stay with us.
“He has to improve his fitness and play for the team as well as last season.”
Leicester, beaten 4-0 by French champions Paris St Germain in a friendly in California on Saturday, kick off their title defence with a trip to newly-promoted Hull City on Aug. 13.
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