Spanish giants Real Madrid completed the blockbuster signing of English midfielder Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, as they managed to land their most prominent target in the ongoing window.
Madrid are set to have agreed to a 100 million pound initial fee for the transfer of the 19-year-old, with further add-ons coming into play down the line.
Bellingham will become the first Englishman to represent Real Madrid after the Los Blancos brought in English icon David Beckham to sport the famous white strip.
Madrid have a habit of splashing out the cash for players they whole-heartedly want and the transfer of Bellingham, their primary target, was just one such example.
Following the transfer, Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos said that the capital city club will look to start with the positives, but also warned of the last big signing that they acquired from the Premier League for nearly as much as they shelled out for Bellingham- Eden Hazard.
“€103m transfer fee? We now also had someone who came for a lot of money and virtually let his career rest. A lot of money and I think everyone would say in retrospect: That was not such a good transfer," Kroos said.
However, Kroos wanted to start things off on a positive note and build on from there with the arrival of the promising English teenager.
“But now let’s start from the positive," he added.
Hazard was considered to be one of the best players in the world during his time at Chelsea as he seemed to glide past hapless defenders at will in his prime.
Florentina Perez shelled out the big bucks to acquire the services of the Belgian international, but the deal failed to live up to the expectations and billings and left a sour taste in the mouth of the fans and management following a string of injuries and poor performances from the 32-year-old.
Real Madrid failed to win the La Liga title as they finished second behind arch-rivals Barcelona in the season that just concluded, and crashed out of the UEFA Champions League in the semi-finals to eventual winners Manchester City.
The Merengues will look to put the disappointing season behind them as they seek to rebuild their team ahead of the impending season following the departure of talismanic striker Karim Benzema, who moved to Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad.