Real Madrid join Arsenal and Tottenham in race for highly rated Mexico forward, as Mbappe partner emerges

Arsenal and Tottenham are set to face competition from Spanish giants Real Madrid for the signing of Mexico forward Santiago Gimenez from Feyenoord.

A number of European heavyweights are said to be keeping tabs on Gimenez in light of a stunning start to the season, which has seen the 22-year-old score 10 goals – including a hat-trick against Ajax – and register two assists in just eight appearances for the Dutch champions.

Gimenez’s fine start to the new campaign comes after he scored 15 times in 32 appearances last season to fire Feyenoord to their first Eredivise title since 2017.

Despite signing a contract extension taking him to 2027 as recently as August, Feyenoord are increasingly resigned to losing Gimenez as soon as next summer with a number of leading European clubs circling.

A move to the Premier League has been mooted with Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea all mentioned as potential destinations, while Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund are said to be keen too.

And it is now being claimed that Real Madrid have joined the race to sign Gimenez having identified him as “their leading centre-forward target” for next summer.

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According to Sports Mole, who cite reports emerging from Spain, Real Madrid have been told that a fee in the region of £43million is likely to be enough to secure the signing of Gimenez, who joined Feyenoord from Mexico’s Cruz Azul in the summer of 2022.

Real Madrid, who saw Karim Benzema depart for Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad last summer, have been heavily linked with a move for Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe over recent years.

Real Madrid could use Santiago Gimenez alongside Kylian Mbappe

A deal finally appeared to be on the horizon in the summer when Mbappe and PSG were embroiled in a bitter contract standoff, which led to the 24-year-old being transfer listed at one stage before the situation was resolved.

Despite recent reports indicating that Mbappe is in discussions to extend his PSG contract beyond the end of this season, rumours have persisted for some time that the 2018 World Cup winner has already agreed to join Real Madrid in 2024.

As such, Gimenez is viewed not as an alternative to Mbappe but as a “low-cost centre-forward” to potentially play alongside him.

Real Madrid have fielded Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, Joselu and Brahim Diaz as their main attackers so far this season, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side currently holding a one-point lead over Barcelona with eight matches of the La Liga season completed.

A switch to Bernabeu for Gimenez would force Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea to seek alternatives, with all three clubs linked with a move for Brentford forward Ivan Toney in recent months.

Toney is currently serving an eight-month ban for betting breaches and is not scheduled to return to action until mid-January.

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