Arbeloa wants to take Real Madrid players to Fulham:
Álvaro Arbeloa, Fulham's new coach, is targeting the Real Madrid market to reinforce his team in the Premier League, having identified three priority targets: attacking midfielder Franco Mastantuono, left-back Fran García and forward Gonzalo García. According to information, everyone maintains an excellent relationship with the Spanish coach, who knows them well from his work in Madrid.Mastantuono appears as a loan opportunity, but competition promises to be fierce: at least a dozen European clubs have already expressed interest in his temporary signing. Fran García could be traded permanently, a scenario that gains strength after the arrival of Marc Cucurella at Real Madrid, from Chelsea, which increases competition for the left-back spot at the Santiago Bernabéu. In the case of Gonzalo García, the Merengues plan to include him in the pre-season tour, with a possible departure for later in the window, depending on the assessment made during the summer work.
Arbeloa signed a three-year contract with Fulham and arrives in London after having coached Real Madrid in the last 28 games of the 2025/26 season. During this period, the Whites finished 2nd in La Liga and were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by Bayern Munich. Before this promotion, the former Spanish international worked for the Madrid team and temporarily took over the first team following the departure of Xabi Alonso in January. His candidacy for the role at Fulham featured glowing references from the re-elected Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, and the club's new coach, José Mourinho, with whom Arbeloa worked as a player at the Bernabéu.
In the process of choosing the Cottagers' new coach, Thomas Frank, who played for Tottenham and Brentford, was associated with the position, while Kieran McKenna (ex-Ipswich) was considered too expensive, with compensation listed at 8 million pounds, before even taking into account salaries and his technical team.
For Fulham, who are looking for stability and ambition in the Premier League, Arbeloa's in-depth knowledge of the environment and the talent linked to Real Madrid could be decisive in accelerating the construction of the squad. The immediate priority is to find solutions that add quality and depth, and the three names identified reflect different profiles: a creative midfielder available on loan, an experienced full-back who can be traded and a striker who will be observed in pre-season.
With the market heating up and several fronts open, Fulham is preparing to act surgically, always dependent on the evolution of Real Madrid's decisions and European competition for the same targets. In the coming weeks, the focus will be on negotiations, timing and opportunity, in a dossier in which Arbeloa's personal relationship with the players can make a difference in the outcome.
Read more on our latest coverage and stay tuned for updates on what happens next.