According to French publication L’Equipe (h/t Daily Mail), La Liga giants Real Madrid have upped their interest in Eduardo Camavinga.
The 17-year-old Stade Rennais midfielder had grabbed the headlines recently after scoring his side’s late winner against Olympique Lyon.
Despite being valued around a whopping £84million by the Ligue 1 outfit, Madrid seem to be keen on securing the signature of one of the brightest prospects in French football, the report claims.
With Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona and Premier League side Manchester United also interested in the Angola-born French international, the teenager’s big-money tag does not come as a surprise.
Camavinga, who rose to prominence with an impressive display against French champions PSG in August, has gone on to become one of Rennais’ key players this season, featuring in 16 of their 17 league games so far.
Then aged 16, Camavinga’s potential was already on display in the game against PSG, which his side eventually won 2-1.
Having established himself as a regular for the Julien Stephan-led Rennais side, Camavinga has played a total of 21 matches from all competitions this season and has helped them stay fourth in the league table.
A part of Rennais’ system since the age of 11, the French wonderkid made his Ligue 1 debut earlier this year in April against Angers SCO. Meanwhile, Madrid, under manager Zinedine Zidane, are aiming at a squad revamp as it has been evident from their spendings in the summer.
After their humiliating loss in the Champions League Round of 16 last season to a young Ajax side, Madrid was seen splashing the cash in the summer with an eye on the future.
They signed a number of young talents like Eder Militao, Luka Jovic, Rodrygo, and Ferland Mendy amongst many others as a part of their future team-building process. Despite buying players for a variety of positions, Madrid are short of a new midfielder in their ranks.
Also, with Luka Modric nearing the end of his career and Toni Kroos looking tired after several seasons, Real need a new young face, who could once again bring back some energy into an exhausted-looking midfield.
That said, Real Madrid’s decision to rope in the teenage sensation, who has already proven his mettle at such a young age, seems to be a wise one.
With Zidane keen on revamping his current squad, Real keeping tabs on the young Camavinga seems to be a move in the right direction. Also, Camavinga is still in his teens and has plenty of time to hone his skills and grow into a potential future star.