In a recent interview (via Mundo Deportivo), Valter De Maggio revealed that Real Madrid have set their sights on Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka. De Maggio said,
“A little bird told me that Ancelotti wants Lobotka at Real Madrid,”
Lobotka’s Impressive Form At The Stadio Diego Armando Maradona
Lobotka is having a solid campaign at Naples as he produced a series of dominant displays at the centre of Luciano Spaletti’s midfield. The 27-year-old has scored one goal and created one assist in 26 matches for the Italian club this season across all fronts.
The former Celta Vigo talent has given a good account of himself at the centre of the park by averaging 2.1 tackles, 0.5 clearances and 0.6 key passes per game in Serie A. He has even been tidy when distributing the ball from midfield, based on his pass completion rate of 94% in top-flight football (stats via whoscored).
Lobotka is under contract at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona until June 2025. Therefore, Los Blancos will have to launch a sizable offer if they are serious about recruiting the Slovak midfield ace next year.
Is Lobotka A Decent Option For Real Madrid?
Lobotka is a solid tackler of the ball as he doesn’t shy away from making a challenge to make life difficult for the opposition in the middle of the park.
The Trencin-born talent usually clears the danger when needed and can even engineer some inviting chances in the final third. He is also an accurate passer of the ball but needs to find a way to be more productive in the opponent’s half. The 42-time Slovakia international is primarily a defensive midfielder but can also play as a box-to-box midfielder if his manager tells him to do so.
We can expect Lobotka to add more bite and steel to Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti‘s midfield. Plus, he is undoubtedly good enough to increase competition for places within Los Blancos‘ match-day squad and could serve as a perfect replacement for Dani Ceballos at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
At the moment, Lobotka is playing at a high level which makes him a good option for the Madrid giants to pursue this winter or at the end of this season. At 27, he is playing at the peak of his playing career and could be an ideal short-term signing for Real Madrid as long as he maintains his high standards in Spanish football where he previously failed to impress during his time at Celta Vigo.
