Fulham are inching closer to signing a third player from Real Madrid this summer, as midfielder Manuel Angel is set to arrive.
Fulham are closing in on a move for Manuel Angel, a 22-year-old midfielder from Real Madrid, according to an update from Fabrizio Romano. The Cottagers, led by manager Alvaro Arbeloa, have been eager to sign a third player from his former club.
Per The Athletic, Real Madrid are set to hold 50% of Angel’s rights once the move goes through. Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano has suggested that Real Madrid will have a sell-on clause and matching rights.
Angel is a central midfielder who can also play a defensive role if required. It was Arbeloa who gave him his first-team debut at the Santiago Bernabeu last season, when the 22-year-old featured seven times for the senior squad across all competitions. Having been on the periphery of Madrid’s first team, Angel could develop further at Craven Cottage under a manager familiar with his profile.
Arbeloa, who oversaw Angel’s debut at Real Madrid, is keen to harness that familiarity at Fulham, where the club requires central midfield reinforcements after several summer departures.
A familiar strategy from Real Madrid
Arbeloa had been eager to sign Angel since earlier in the summer, as per reports, and now it appears the two clubs are closing in on an agreement for the talented 22-year-old. As is the strategy from Real Madrid with other players, they are set to hold a reported 50% of the player’s rights should this move go through.
They have done something similar with other prospects from the Castilla leaving for new clubs in the past, and that might be the case with Angel. Fulham have needed reinforcements in central midfield following a few departures in the summer, and the young Spaniard could continue his development under Arbeloa.
Should he succeed at Craven Cottage, Real Madrid might contemplate bringing him back in the future or sell the remainder of his rights to Fulham. Overall, this could be a solid signing for the Cottagers in their effort to build a stellar project for the near future.
Building a young core
Should the deal for Angel go through, he would become the third Real Madrid player to join the Cottagers this summer. Earlier, Fulham agreed a double deal for Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios from the Spanish giants, and overall they have focused on building a young core in the side.
Recently, they also agreed a deal for Hugo Larsson from Eintracht Frankfurt, reportedly, and adding this young Swedish midfielder is seen as a major coup. Should the Angel deal conclude before the deadline, he will join Garcia, Palacios, and Larsson as Fulham’s summer acquisitions from Europe.
