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Cristian Nikolaev was one of the young defenders on Real Madrid’s radar as a long-term option heading into the summer transfer window. A grass-root level option still early in his development, the youngster boasted of a high and unexploited ceiling.
Los Blancos, however, were not alone in the race for the young centre-back with local rivals Atletico Madrid also closely monitoring the defender.
In fact, Los Rojiblancos were even said to be favourites to land the 17-year-old phenom at one point last month.
Future in Italy
Despite attracting serious interest from Spain, it so happens that neither Madrid-based giant landed the teenager’s signing.
Lecce, a team in Serie A, has scooped away the young phenom for a fee of just over €200,000 in what can only be deemed as a bargain as revealed by Mundo Deportivo.
The player will sign a contract for five years and is expected to travel to Italy in the coming days to begin the new chapter in his life. Lecce will utilise his services initially for their subsidiary setup before promoting him based on performances.
Needless to say, the terms of the transfer and the fee involved could have proven to be a bargain for Real Madrid who were interested in his signing not too long ago. Notably, even Everton and Juventus who were in the race eventually missed out.
Uncertain stance
While it appeared clear that Real Madrid would go all out to sign a top-quality centre-back this summer, the club appear to have pressed the brakes on any such potential operation in recent weeks.
After all, they have taken a step back in their pursuit of Leny Yoro, who was largely expected to be the team’s primary target to reinforce the defence. While they continue to be interested, Lille’s €60 million asking price does not help.
It is thus not completely ruled out that the men in white enter the new season with Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger as the starting centre-back options.
After all, Rafa Marin will return from loan as a valuable option and Aurelien Tchouameni can also cover in central defence.
