Inside Spain is a weekly installment brought to you by Football España, giving you an insight into all the top stories coming out of the rich and intense climates of La Liga and beyond.
It seems as if Spain can do no wrong in international football these days. Even with just four players starting the final at Euro 2024, a number of key players out, and despite conceding an 85th-minute equaliser, they still beat Switzerland this week. They qualified for the Nations League as top seeds in their group, winning five of their six matches.
Bayern Munich loanee Bryan Zaragoza took the penalty and scored the winner, which he won in the 93rd minute. This was probably not the reason why Bayern are paying attention to the Spanish news. Real Madrid are courting Florian Wirtz, Jonathan Tah, Xabi Alonso and Alphonso Davies, all on the Bavarians’ agenda. To complicate matters, Barcelona are also in favor of Tah, and are said to be well advanced, and Davies’ deal is believed to be done with Los Blancos.
Alonso has been heavily tipped to join Los Blancos next summer during this international break, but reports in the capital say he will not make a decision until March. The big story in the Spanish capital, however, is this president Florentino Pérez is considering changing the club’s ownership model to a shareholder company, rather than fan-owned, which would mean big changes.
Robert Lewandowski on the toughest challenge Lamine Yamal will face. #FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/d0lYp2hlQD
— Football Spain (@footballespana_) November 21, 2024
Tottenham Hotspur right-back Pedro Porro also continues to express his desire to play for Real Madrid in a not-so-subtle way. The problem is that they believe Manchester City or Manchester United are more likely destinationsas Trent Alexander-Arnold remains at the top of his list.
Atlético de Madrid is also facing career-defining changes. This week has seen the arrival of director of football Carlos Bucero has seen Atlético look for an eventual replacement for Diego Simeone, and will likely see the departure of sporting director Andrea Berta. Aston Villa are keeping tabs on Osasuna centre-back Enzo Boyomo, who has impressed beyond his €25m release clause, and Real Valladolid are also open to selling star winger Raúl Moro, who could an interesting addition to a Premier League team.
Welcome to the silly section. The fact that Sevilla sporting director Victor Orta turned down the chance to sign Viktor Gyokeres for just €14m while he was at Leeds United seems relatively tame compared to the other stories. Elsewhere, the Athletic Club cult hero has revealed that his alopecia nearly cost him his shot at the big time, and that the former adult actor Mia Khalifa has denied relationships with former Manchester City and current Atlético star Julian Alvarez.
