Zinedine Zidane is highly respected within Real Madrid, which is only natural given his status as a club legend both as a player and as a coach. He has a strong and excellent relationship with Florentino Pérez, which ensures that the president has confidence in taking any recommendations from him.
During his tenure as coach, Zidane played a pivotal role in many of the club’s deals, although one particular deal did not go through. That deal was for Olympique Lyonnais striker Rayan Cherki, whose name was among those Zidane suggested multiple times. Despite this, the club did not take any significant steps to sign him.
Currently, Cherki’s situation at his current team is very complicated. According to reports from Fabrizio Romano, the player could leave Lyon in the winter transfer market for 22.5 million euros, a reasonable amount for the young striker.
However, Real Madrid’s sporting management believes there is no place for Cherki in the team, as his position is already well-covered in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad. The club’s current plans are focused on strengthening and renewing the defense, not on signing a new striker.
In Madrid, they believe they have one of the best attacking lines in the world, with the presence of Vinicius Junior, Mbappé, Bellingham, and Rodrygo Goes. With these names, the club feels that the attacking line is set for the long term, making the signing of a striker not a priority at the moment.
As for priorities, the most important task at the club right now is signing Trent Alexander-Arnold. According to reports from Telemadrid, a delegation from Real Madrid is set to travel to Liverpool in the coming days to finalize the deal.
The player has already agreed to join Madrid, but the question now is when he will arrive in the Spanish capital. At the moment, the final decision rests with Liverpool, while in the summer, the decision will be made solely by Alexander-Arnold.