Real Madrid ‘planning to axe TWELVE players in transfer window’ as Zidane tries to meet 25 limit quota

REAL MADRID are plotting to axe 12 players this summer in order to cut their squad down.

LaLiga sides are limited to having 25 senior stars in their list for next season.

Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and James Rodriguez’s Real Madrid futures are all in doubt this summer

But Zinedine Zidane currently has 37 first-teamers, 12 of which are currently out on loan, and knows he must get rid of some when the transfer window reopens.

Both Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez could be among those to be let go.

The pair are on high wages and neither player has managed to win over boss Zidane in either of his two spells in charge.

Bale saw a move to Chinese side Jiangsu Suning fall through last summer, with Los Blancos pulling the plug on the deal at the last minute.

Real are keen to get his £13.4million-a-year salary off the wage bill but finding a club willing to match that kind of money could prove difficult.

The Welshman was sensationally linked alongside international team-mate Aaron Ramsey with a move to Everton, where he would be reunited with Carlo Ancelotti.

James, meanwhile, has also been tipped for a move to the Premier League – Arsenal appear to the be the frontrunners in the race for the Colombian.

Rodriguez has just one year left on his current contract and does not look likely to be offered an extension.

Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez’s deals also run out in 2021, putting them at risk of being forced out.

That is despite the fact that Modric was named Ballon d’Or winner in December 2018 – the first player other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to win the gong since Kaka in 2007.

Dani Ceballos – who is spending the season on loan at Arsenal – looks unlikely to force his way back into the fold at the Bernabeu.

But rather than making the switch to the Emirates permanent, the playmaker would prefer a switch to Real Betis, where he came through the youth ranks.

Madrid splashed the cash to lure Luka Jovic to the Bernabeu last summer from Eintracht Frankfurt.

However, it has not quite worked out as planned for the Serbian who has managed just two goals this term – Chelsea and Arsenal could look to pounce when the market reopens.

There have been high hopes for the likes of Jesus Vallejo, Achraf Hakimi and Borja Mayoral.

They are spending the season away from the club and also look unlikely to break into the first-team set-up.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s heir to the No7 jersey at the Bernabeu was Mariano and it is safe to say he did not quite fit the job description.

His four goals in 19 appearances last year saw him dumped with the No24 shirt this time around as Eden Hazard claimed No7.

Now the Brazilian forward is at risk of being pushed out completely, especially with the likes of Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior impressing.

Martin Odegaard was the ‘next big thing’ when he signed from Stromsgodset in 2015 and became the club’s youngest debutant at 16 years and 157 days old.

Now he is shining for Real Sociedad as his parent club weigh up the best way to resolve the Norwegian’s future.

Finally, Sergio Reguilon made 23 appearances for Madrid last season with the left-back filling in for the injured Marcelo.

But the return of Marcelo plus the signing of his successor Ferland Mendy for £42.7m mean he has dropped down the pecking order and, after spending this campaign at Sevilla, his 15-year spell at Los Blancos could come to an end.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk