Real Madrid will have to shell out €18 million for potential Alphonso Davies alternative | OneFootball

In the past few weeks, Real Madrid have been dealt a major blow with regard to their pursuit of top defensive target Alphonso Davies.

Despite a long-standing interest in the player, the Spanish giants were unable to convince the Canadian international to join the club on a free transfer.

The player, instead, is poised to sign a contract extension with Bayern Munich, thus prompting Real Madrid to find other alternatives in the market.

One of those alternatives is Alvaro Carreras, a player in huge demand right now in light of his brilliant season at SL Benfica.

In recent weeks, Real Madrid have been closely following the progress of Carreras, a former La Fabrica trainee. But they are not the only club interested in his services, with Barcelona also keeping tabs.

Real Madrid slapped with a €18m price-tag

Although Barcelona are still a lucrative destination for any young player, Real Madrid can hope to beat the Catalans through their financial firepower.

To that end, Fichajes reports that interested parties will have to shell out €18 million in order to acquire the services of Alvaro Carreras.

Is Alvaro Carreras the ideal alternative to Alphonso Davies? (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

This is an amount stipulated in Carreras’ buy-back clause held by his former club Manchester United, who are also keeping close tabs on the player’s progress.

Although this is an amount Barcelona can possibily arrange, Real Madrid may have deeper pockets and can potentially woo the player by offering him a better contract.

More importantly, there is more scope for Carreras to become a first-choice option at Real Madrid, as both Fran Garcia and Ferland Mendy have not quite performed up to the mark.

Barcelona, in contrast, may only offer the Benfica starlet the chance to serve as the understudy for first-choice left-back Alejandro Balde.

Keeping that in mind, it will be interesting to see how the Carreras transfer saga takes shape in the coming summer and whether or not Real Madrid can oust Barça and Man United in the race to sign their former youth player.