he's better than De Jong and Real Madrid is bidding for his signing, Juni Calafat gives the final OK

Real Madrid's participation in the Club World Cup doesn't prevent the executives led by Florentino Pérez from keeping a close eye on the emergence of outstanding players in the summer market. One of the latest to arrive at the Valdebebas offices does so under striking circumstances, given the successes achieved in a short period of time.

Kees Smit's name has become quite popular in the elite soccer scene of the Netherlands. This young AZ Alkmaar midfielder is one of the key pieces of the Dutch team and is beginning to establish himself as the reference point in the country's soccer. In fact, he was part of the Netherlands U-19 squad that won the recently contested European Championship in Romania.

The scouts led by Juni Calafat have closely followed Kees Smit's progression and believe, as does the executive himself, that he is an excellent addition. Although he is a midfielder by trade, his offensive abilities were sufficiently proven during the U-19 European Championship: he scored four goals with the Netherlands.

This record made him the top scorer in the knockout stage of this national team competition. Kees Smit's spectacular performance has drawn attention in the Netherlands: clubs like Ajax and PSV have already inquired about his contract conditions for upcoming transfer windows. Kees Smit is under contract until the summer of 2028 with AZ Alkmaar and has a market value of five million euros according to Transfermarkt.

It won't be this summer

Despite the stir that Kees Smit has caused in his home country, Real Madrid is also considered one of the clubs interested in signing him. In fact, Juni Calafat reportedly pointed him out to the Madrid leadership, who keep looking for players to strengthen the midfield of Real Madrid Castilla... as well as the first team.

Kees Smit's signing is a topic that has reached the footballer himself. "I read a lot of things and see the big clubs go by, that's great", says the young AZ Alkmaar midfielder. But "I have to think carefully about what I'm going to do", he notes, showing humility and a strong awareness that he still needs to keep growing in level before changing teams.

That's why Kees Smit reportedly made the decision "I'll stay at AZ. The most important thing is that I play soccer as much as possible, that I play, that I improve. Because I can still get a little better" over time and with the accumulation of many minutes in his current sporting discipline.

Therefore, Real Madrid will have to keep a close watch on Kees Smit's performance knowing that a departure from AZ Alkmaar in the coming summers is, for now, unlikely. Meanwhile, Juni Calafat's scouts will keep surveying the transfer market, searching for the profiles that both Xabi Alonso and the club's leadership want to include in the first team.