After finishing a rather quiet loan spell with Getafe, Juanmi Latasa returned to Real Madrid this summer with little to no chances of making it into the first-team setup under Carlo Ancelotti.
After all, Real Madrid have a packed attacking department consisting of Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr., Kylian Mbappe, Endrick, Brahim Diaz, and Arda Guler.
As such, a swift exit was believed to be on the cards for Latasa, but much to everyone’s surprise, the 23-year-old was named on the squad list for the first-team pre-season tour of the USA.
In fact, Latasa even got to play a few minutes in the friendly encounter against AC Milan earlier this week.
Two clubs interested
Despite Latasa being on the US tour, it is unlikely that he will be given a chance in Real Madrid’s first-team setup next season.
And, according to AS, work is already being done to secure an exit for the Spanish centre-forward, with Real Madrid putting him on the market.
In fact, two La Liga clubs – Real Valladolid and newly-promoted RCD Espanyol – have expressed an interest in signing Latasa from the Merengues this summer.
Having previously opted to loan him out, Real Madrid intend on selling the academy product permanently this summer, although they would prefer to retain 50% of his rights or insert a buyback option for him.
Latasa’s contract with Real Madrid expires in the summer of 2025, meaning this is the last opportunity for the club to sell him and generate some revenue as they could lose him for nothing as a free agent next year.
The 23-year-old is unlikely to be the only academy product to leave Real Madrid this summer, with the club also exploring the possibility of offloading 19-year-old prodigy Nico Paz so that he can play regularly elsewhere and continue his progression.