La Liga giants Sevilla have reportedly called off their pursuit of Mariano Diaz, who will remain at Real Madrid for the foreseeable future.
According to a report by Catalan outlet El Nacional, Sevilla will not be launching an offensive for Mariano Diaz in the summer transfer window. The 28-year-old forward, valued at around €15 million by Real Madrid, appears set to stay put at the Santiago Bernabeu for the foreseeable future.
Mariano Diaz is currently in his second stint with Real Madrid, having returned to the club from Lyon in August 2018. The player’s stock has fallen considerably in the last three and a half years, as he has gone from being a prolific striker for Lyon to a backup option for the Merengues.
Across his stints with Real Madrid, Mariano has turned out 67 times, registering 11 goals and three assists in the process. Playing irregularly has resulted in the 28-year-old’s frustrations boiling over, and he could leave the club this year. Mariano’s situation has not gone unnoticed, with Sevilla among the clubs linked with him in recent weeks.
The Andalusian giants have two top-notch strikers in Youssef En-Nesyri and Rafa Mir in the first-team squad. But with En-Nesyri embarking for the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco, Sevilla could enter the transfer market for a striker this month.
Mariano had emerged as a possible target for Sevilla, with his €15 million price tag also being attractive. But it looks like the La Liga side have cooled their interest in him. Sevilla will instead target other players instead of the out-of-favour Real Madrid forward, who has been left in limbo.
Real Madrid, too, will need to engineer an alternate solution to get Mariano off their books, although there is another stumbling block awaiting them. While the 28-year-old forward has been linked with several Premier League clubs like West Ham United, Newcastle United and Burnley, he wishes to remain in La Liga even after leaving Real Madrid.
No other La Liga club has been linked much with Mariano, though, leaving Real Madrid and the player in a spot of bother. As for Sevilla, Los Nervionenses have several other strikers on their radar, including Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette, and we could see them signing one centre-forward this month.