Real Madrid determined not to miss out on the next Pedri

Stuart Telford

• 7 Jan 2023 15:04 GMT
• 3 min read

Former Golden Boy Pedri has admitted he would have signed for Real Madrid before he joined Barcelona in 2020, and los Blancos are determined not to miss out on the next starlet from the Canary Islands…

Tenerife-born Pedri came through at Gran Canarian side Las Palmas before joining Barca in a €17.5 million deal in September 2019. Little more than two years and nearly 100 appearances later and that now looks like a snip, and Real can only wonder what might have been.

"I think so," Pedri answered when asked by Mundo Deportivo whether he would have signed for Real on leaving Las Palmas. "My ambition was to make my way as a professional footballer, and it would've been very difficult to reject an offer from one of the great clubs in the history of this sport."

READ: Pedri was willing to sign for Real Madrid before Barcelona

Moleiro magic

And now Alberto Moleiro has come into focus at the Estadio Gran Canaria, his team-high five assists helping Las Palmas to the top of the Segunda Division table, a point clear of Levante with a game in hand.

He has been likened to Pedri by onlookers, and his current manager Garcia Pimienta recently said he had "a clear Barca profile."

But Barca won the race to Pedri and then another player compared to him in Pablo Torre, who joined from Racing Santander last summer. But with that pair now on the Blaugrana's books, Moleiro might be better served going to the Santiago Bernabeu.

READ: Liverpool target €30m midfielder with no top-flight experience

In Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, the Spanish and European champions have plenty of powerful midfielders, and they remain in the hunt for another in Jude Bellingham. But Moleiro could prove the perfect long-term replacement for Luka Modric, who is now 37.

There is also Premier League interest in Moleiro from Liverpool, Arsenal and latterly Aston Villa, whose coach Unai Emery is familiar with the player who would likely cost his €30 million release clause.