Jose Mourinho hopes Florentino Perez will sign a star player from one of his old clubs.
Jose Mourinho has made signing a centre-back his top priority as Real Madrid gets ready for one of the biggest team changes in recent times. The famous ‘Special One’ is about to be officially named Madrid’s new head coach after Florentino Perez won re-election as club president on Sunday, beating rival Enrique Riquelme.
Mourinho faces a tough challenge. The team had a poor season with no trophies to show, and things off the pitch aren’t great either, with tension and arguments in the dressing room. After such a tough year, many expect Real Madrid to make a strong move this summer, and Mourinho has already started planning for next season, according to the Spanish news site Defensa Central.
The 63-year-old coach is especially keen on bringing in a central defender, and Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven has caught his eye as a perfect fit. A source close to Van de Ven told The Mirror, “Micky ticks all the boxes for Mourinho. Real are ready to go for him.”
But Van de Ven won’t be cheap. Spanish paper Marca says his price could be over £75 million, and the Dutch defender seems ready to consider leaving Tottenham this summer. However, after Tottenham’s final game win against Everton, Van de Ven hinted he might stay. When asked about the team’s future, he said, “Really confident. I think we have the right people now here. The right manager.”
He added, “I’m confident we can do better next year because, like you said, finishing 17th two years in a row was not acceptable for a club like Spurs. Things need to change, and I believe that will happen. We’ll do everything we can and I’m sure we’ll improve a lot.”
Since joining Tottenham for £34.5 million from Wolfsburg in 2023, Van de Ven has been one of their best players. He still has three years left on his contract, which puts Spurs in a strong position as summer approaches.