Real Madrid lie low in transfer market: 'no more signings'

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti and club president Florentino Perez have taken a calm approach to this summer's transfer window. The Italian manager has now confirmed that Los Blancos have concluded their business in the market and will no longer make any new additions as they focus on preparing for the 2022/23 campaign.

It has been a relatively quiet summer for the La Liga champions, despite having been linked with sensational moves for the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe earlier this year. Both deals fell through, with Haaland ending up with Premier League champions Manchester City. Meanwhile, Mbappe chose to stay and extend his contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

Real Madrid were able to sign two players, with Aurelien Tchouameni arriving from Monaco in a quiet transfer that was overshadowed by all the hullabaloo surrounding Mbappe at that time.

Antonio Rudiger arrived from Chelsea on a free transfer, in another move that did not come as a surprise. The defender has been linked to the club for a number of months, and has been eyed as the replacement for Raphael Varane, who left for Manchester United last summer.

With those two arrivals, Ancelotti feels that he does not need to make any further changes in his squad. After all, his current crop of players brought home a significant trophy haul last season. As for departures, captain Marcelo, Luka Jovic, Gareth Bale and Isco saw the exit door, but none of those players had strong starting XI positions in the previous campaign.

"We're not going to sign anyone. We're fine as we are," said Ancelotti in a press conference ahead of the club's pre-season US tour.

Speaking about Rudiger and Tchouameni, he said: "They are, in their positions, the best we could find on the market. Rudiger is a great centre-back and Tchouameni [is great] too. He is very young and has a lot of potential."

According to Marca, the manager plans to use the pre-season tour to help the new arrivals assimilate with the club. He also expressed confidence in Eden Hazard, who is desperate to finally have a breakthrough year for Real Madrid.

"Benzema is first choice but we have to understand that it will be a strange, different season, with the World Cup in between and we have to look at different options," he said, speaking about the possibility of relying on Hazard to cover for Benzema more in the coming season.

Apart from Hazard, Ancelotti also mentioned Marco Asensio, who appears to be staying at the Santiago Bernabeu despite being believed to be on his way out this summer.