Barring a major surprise, the next Real Madrid manager will be Jose Mourinho, with Alvaro Arbeloa expected to leave after the end of the season. Although his arrival could be delayed by elections at Real Madrid, Mourinho is already planning for the coming season in La Liga.
Mourinho has reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with Los Blancos, with an automatic one-year extension to come into place if he wins a La Liga title. He is set to bring two of his assistant coaches from Benfica, and has demanded unanimous power over selections, and a say in the transfer policy.
The number one objective at Real Madrid this season is a midfielder, and the player that has been most strongly linked with the position is Manchester City’s Rodri Hernandez. Yet Mourinho has requested the signing of Sporting CP midfielder Morten Hjulmand say Cadena Cope. The Danish international has been linked with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in the past, and the Portuguese side would ask for around €50m to make a deal happen. Currently he has two years left on his deal in Lisbon, which generally results in clubs considering offers or offering a new contract.
Hjulmand, 26, has been in Portugal for the past three seasons after making a €19.5m move from Lecce back in 2023. Coming through the youth academy at FC Copenhagen, Hjulmand moved to Admira Wacker in Austria as a teenager, where he spent three years before a €2.5m move to Serie A.
So far he has earned 27 caps for Denmark, since becoming a regular for Sporting. Over the past three seasons, he has become a lynchpin in the middle, and is now their captain. Amid talk of a lack of leadership in the Real Madrid dressing room, Hjulmand could perhaps add something in that regard too.
