Real Madrid have identified Lovro Majer as a replacement for Luka Modric and have been told it will take €35 million to sign him from Rennes in the summer.
According to a report from El Nacional, Real Madrid will need to shell out a transfer fee of €35 million if they wish to sign Croatian midfielder Lovro Majer from Ligue 1 outfit Rennes in the summer of 2022.
Up until this summer, Majer had spent his entire footballing career in his homeland of Croatia. The midfielder had stints at the academies of Dinamo Zagreb, NK Dubrava and NK Trnje before he signed for the NK Lokomotiva youth setup, where he graduated to first-team football. After over 60 appearances, he returned to Dinamo Zagreb in 2018 and spent three productive campaigns in the Croatian capital.
Majer was snapped up by Rennes this past summer, and the 23-year-old has excelled in his debut season in France. In just 12 appearances, he has already produced a tally of one goal and five assists from midfield, impressing with his chance-creation and playmaking abilities, helping his team to second place in Ligue 1.
Majer has been compared to Real Madrid midfield mainstay Luka Modric throughout his fledgeling career, and it seems that the Croatian international has caught the attention of the Merengues with his impressive displays at Rennes.
Real Madrid are in the market for reinforcements in the middle of the park as they look to put a succession plan in place for Modric. The veteran star, at 36, is in the twilight of his career. And even though he has been performing admirably this season, Florentino Perez & co. realise the importance of starting a new club cycle, which would mean ushering out the Croatian international.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, there have been no talks of a renewal yet, even as Modric continues to attract attention from clubs across Europe. As per the report, manager Carlo Ancelotti will not stand in the way of an exit for the 36-year-old despite valuing his contributions and has thrown his weight behind bringing Majer to replace the former Tottenham Hotspur superstar.
It is further stated that Rennes will demand a sum of €35 million for Majer’s services in the summer of next year. However, Real Madrid president Perez is confident of signing the 23-year-old for a lower price as he shares a good relationship with the Ligue 1 club after working on the deal to sign Camavinga earlier this year.
It now remains to be seen if Ancelotti & co. end up replacing Modric with Majer come 2022 or whether they look at different options, with Lazio midfield mainstay Sergej Milinkovic-Savic also on the radars of the current La Liga leaders.
