Doubt cast on Real Madrid forward's future ahead of summer arrivals

Real Madrid forward Joselu Mato has proven an excellent alternative up front this season for Carlo Ancelotti, after they were left short by the exit of Karim Benzema. Los Blancos can make his move permanent in the summer, but competition for places could squeeze him out.

Such is Joselu’s form, that he has been linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, something that Football España revealed was not necessarily on the mark. Fabrizio Romano has told Caught Offside that he too has not received any confirmation that this is the case.

The 33-year-old target man has 13 goals and 3 assists in 40 appearances, but is averaging a goal contribution every 101 minutes. In Spain most of the reporting has been that Real Madrid will execute their €1.5m option to make his loan move from Espanyol permanent, but Romano has cast doubt on that. He told Caught Offside that “Real Madrid have not decided anything on making Joselu’s loan permanent just yet, but with Endrick coming and the Kylian Mbappe deal close, for sure they need to discuss many things internally about offensive players.”

The Spain international could scarcely have done much more with the opportunities he has had, and as Carlo Ancelotti has remarked, he offers something different to Los Blancos at the sharp end of the pitch. However no doubt minutes will be coming at a premium next season, and Joselu will be much easier to bench than the alternatives.