Lucas Silva races back on to Real's radar

Posted Thursday, January 22, 2015 by Marca.com

Asier Illarramendi's prospective departure to Athletic de Bilbao could pave the way for Lucas Silva to join Real Madrid, a move that had been placed on the back-burner until the summer. In the wake of the unexpected approach for the Basqueman, 'Los Blancos' immediately renewed contacts with Silva's camp.

The European champions are now hoping to get the Silva deal done as soon as possible, because selling Illarra would leave the squad a man light in the middle of the park, particularly with Luka Modric still out. The "Will-he? Won't he?" saga over the young Brazilian's on-off switch to the Bernabeu has been running for several months, but Real suddenly have a tangible reason to get around the negotiating table with Cruzeiro again.

Illarra's mooted sale is a golden opportunity to seal the capture of a player who Real Madrid have rated extremely highly for some time. Carlo Ancelotti has always been in favour of signing Silva, simply preferring to bring him in over the summer in the Brazilian's best interests, since this would give him a gentler landing than trying to settle in when the campaign is in full flow.

However, now there has been another twist in the story and it looks like Silva won't be able to be eased in during pre-season after all - though it remains to be seen how quickly he will make his debut if he does join this month.