Real Madrid Raid Lille For Osimhen, Two Others

Real Madrid are preparing a raid on French side Lille for Nigeria forward, Victor Osimhen, French midfielder, Boubakary Soumare and Brazilian defender, Gabriel as they look to bolster their squad with young stars.

Los Blancos have a philosophy of looking for young talent from across the globe to come in and potentially make a name for themselves at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Spanish newspaper Marca, have reported that in their search, Real have set their eyes on a trio of starlets from the Ligue 1 side after sending scouts to some of their matches.

Soumare joined Lille from reigning Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain due to a lack of chances to feature for the French heavyweights.

He has become a breakout star this season playing in a defensive midfield role, and has featured 17 times for the side this season – though he has one red card to his name.

Madrid could face a fight for Soumare’s signature, with both Manchester United and Valencia also previously being linked with signing the French star.

Victor Osimhen joined from Charleroi last summer for a fee of 12 million euros.

The Nigerian striker’s impressive form has also seen him linked with other heavyweight including Barcelona and Liverpool. He has been deadly in front of goal this season, scoring 10 goals in 18 appearances.

He has also broken into the Nigerian national team where he has featured nine times, scoring four goals.

Gabriel Dos Santos Magalhaes, better known as simply Gabriel, had struggled to make a name for himself in Europe before the start of this season, with loan moves to Dinamo Zagreb and Troyes.

But he has stepped up for Lille this season. The 22-year-old Brazilian has made 16 appearances in the heart of the Lille defence and has also been linked with a move to Italian champions Juventus.

To make room for future acquisitions from outside of Europe, Los Blancos would need to cut their foreign player quota, and the club are working with Vinicius Junior to ensure he has dual citizenship.