Real Madrid would pay €20M for Kees Smit, the 19-year-old Dutch talent

After the signing of Álvaro Carreras was confirmed, a transfer executed after the Club World Cup, Real Madrid's board of directors decided not to make any further additions to the white locker room. Despite Xabi Alonso's requests, who asked to add a center-back and a defensive-minded creative midfielder, the verdict was clear: no signings until mid-2026.

Only a true competitive emergency would force Real Madrid to intervene during next year's winter transfer window. However, that self-imposed circumstance doesn't mean that the executives led by Florentino Pérez have been or will be sitting on their hands during the current soccer season.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In addition to working on signing several free agents for the heart of the defense, they're also exploring the next signing for the midfield. Current discussions on this sensitive matter, according to Fabrizio Romano, have reportedly included the name of Angelo Stiller.

After all, Stuttgart's midfielder is not an unfamiliar figure to Madrid's sporting management: his name has circulated in the white orbit thanks to multiple rumors. Those speculations about his signing, as Toni Kroos's heir, could become reality within a year. However, the number "6" of the German side must overcome his main competition coming from the Netherlands.

He has started very well

Because another name closely linked to the Madrid entity is Kees Smit. Positioned in the same terms as Stiller in the white orbit, the AZ Alkmaar player also emerges as a potential merengue signing to expand the roster of midfielders.

Not only because of the qualities he brings to the field, a comparison that's truly similar to Angelo Stiller. He's also of interest to the merengue leaders, who must balance the team's sporting health with strict business management, due to the low transfer fee they'd have to pay to take him from the Eredivisie.

Just €20 million would be the price the white board would have to pay, for now, to secure Kees Smit's registration. This affordable operation detailed by Mundo Deportivo could become more complicated over time, especially if Kees Smit continues to show his quality in the Netherlands' domestic competitions.

The involvement of other elite European clubs is not entirely ruled out either. Teams like Manchester City, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich are closely monitoring Kees Smit's performance, an interest that could increase his transfer fee when the summer transfer window opens.