Nacho: Roma make €8m offer for Real Madrid defender

Serie A giants Roma have made an offer of €8m (£6.2m) for versatile Real Madrid defender Nacho, according to reports. The Italian side have targeted the Real academy product as replacement for veteran left-back Ashley Cole, whose contract was terminated by mutual consent on 19 January.

Spanish radio station Cadena COPE claimed claimed Nacho was seriously considering leaving his boyhood club after being left out of the matchday squads against Sporting Gijon and Deportivo La Coruna by new Real coach Zinedine Zidane.

The 26-year-old was frequently used as an understudy to Sergio Ramos and Pepe by previous boss Rafael Benitez, with the Spain international making 14 appearances for the club across all competitions this season. However he was left out of the squad to face Sporting by Zidane, with the Frenchman opting to name Alvaro Arbeloa and Danilo as defensive cover instead.

Transfer ban

Marca reported that Real's transfer ban would have a major influence on whether the club decide to sell Nacho. The Spanish giants were banned from registering new players for the next two transfer windows by Fifa on 14 January for breaching rules regarding the transfer of players under the age of 18.

Real have protested their innocence and have vowed to appeal against the ban, which does not apply to the current January transfer window. Zidane, who called the transfer ban "absurd", has insisted that he is happy with his squad and claimed there was no talk about possible signings in January.

"For the time being we have not spoken to the club about reinforcements. I am happy with the squad I have," Zidane was quoted as saying by Sky Sports on 16 January. "The most important thing is that we know what has happened now. I think [the transfer ban] will be fixed with time and next week we won't speak of this anymore.

"It doesn't make sense. We will wait and see what happens next week. I am calm, it is an error and nothing more," the Frenchman added.