{"id":42420,"date":"2026-02-10T03:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T08:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/real-madrid-have-identified-the-27-year-old-as-their-top-midfield-target-but-they-also-have-a-back-up-plan-in-mind\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T03:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T08:49:14","slug":"real-madrid-have-identified-the-27-year-old-as-their-top-midfield-target-but-they-also-have-a-back-up-plan-in-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/real-madrid-have-identified-the-27-year-old-as-their-top-midfield-target-but-they-also-have-a-back-up-plan-in-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Madrid have identified the 27-year-old as their top midfield target, but they also have a back-up plan in mind."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/real-madrid-have-identified-the-27-year-old-as-their-top-midfield-target-but-they-also-have-a-back-up-plan-in-mind\/#Why_Vicinha_appeals_to_Real_Madrid\" >Why Vicinha appeals to Real Madrid<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/real-madrid-have-identified-the-27-year-old-as-their-top-midfield-target-but-they-also-have-a-back-up-plan-in-mind\/#Keith_Smit_One_for_the_future\" >Keith Smit: One for the future<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Real Madrid are already laying the foundations for next season as they aim to fine-tune a squad that can once again challenge on multiple fronts.<br \/><\/strong><br \/>According to AS, the Spanish giants view Paris Saint-Germain&#8217;s Vitinha as their main midfield target, with AZ Alkmaar&#8217;s teenage prospect Keith Smit as a second development option.<\/p>\n<p>Madrid&#8217;s recruitment strategy continues to balance immediate competitiveness with long-term planning.<\/p>\n<p>The club, which has ambitions of becoming a serious two-tier contender in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, believes subtle but smart additions could make the difference at crucial moments next season.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Vicinha_appeals_to_Real_Madrid\"><\/span>Why Vicinha appeals to Real Madrid<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There is good reason why Vicinha&#8217;s name is at the top of Madrid&#8217;s shortlist. The 27-year-old Portugal international is in his prime and has developed into a key figure at PSG, admired for his calmness in possession, positional discipline and leadership on the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>Madrid&#8217;s coaching staff reportedly see him as a midfielder who can control the tempo in high-pressure games, a quality highly valued in European knockout football.<\/p>\n<p>But it won&#8217;t be easy to pull him away from Paris. Vicinha&#8217;s contract runs until 2029, and he is said to be settled in the French capital, playing a central role in PSG&#8217;s midfield structure.<\/p>\n<p>The combination of long-term security and the importance of the sport makes any potential deal complex both financially and diplomatically.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Keith_Smit_One_for_the_future\"><\/span>Keith Smit: One for the future<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PGS midfielder Vicinha in action (Photo by Franco Arland\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As an alternative, Madrid are also eyeing Smit, one of the brightest young players to emerge from the Eredivisie.<\/p>\n<p>At just 19 years old, the AZ Alkmaar midfielder impressed with his technical quality, intelligence and maturity beyond his years.<\/p>\n<p>Although he is not yet considered a finished product, Madrid believe Smit can thrive in a development-oriented environment if brought in early.<\/p>\n<p>Madrid&#8217;s summer plans also include integrating the players they already have in their system.<\/p>\n<p>The return of Endrik and Niko Paz from their respective loan spells is expected to add depth and freshness to the squad, reinforcing the club&#8217;s belief in internal solutions alongside selected external signings.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Report: Real Madrid are increasing their interest in signing a &#8216;captain&#8217; from Manchester City <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Real Madrid are already laying the foundations for next season as they aim to fine-tune a squad that can once again challenge on multiple fronts.According to AS, the Spanish giants view Paris Saint-Germain&#8217;s Vitinha as their main midfield target, with AZ Alkmaar&#8217;s teenage prospect Keith Smit as a second development option. Madrid&#8217;s recruitment strategy continues [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-42420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}