As European football prepares itself for a Galactico summer from Real Madrid the smartest players on the transfer market will know that any summer of change in the Spanish capital opens up the opportunity to snare a game-changing bargain.
The return of Zinedine Zidane appears to have brought with it a vow from club president Florentino Perez that he will overhaul an ageing squad, adding the sprinkling of stardust to the Santiago Bernabeu that has not been as evident in the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era.
Premier League giants inevitably fear this vow. Eden Hazard and Christian Eriksen are expected to rank among Madrid’s top targets and, should Paris Saint-Germain hold firm in the fight to keep Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, ought to make ideal candidates for the Spanish champions.
Few players can resist the lure of world football royalty and Hazard in particular has long spoken of his desire to work under Zidane and play for Madrid.
But when the 13-time European champions decide to overhaul their squad there are bargains to be snared. The 2009 summer that brought Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso and Karim Benzema would see the formation of not one but three Champions League winning sides.
To make way for this quartet of big names Wesley Sneijder was shipped off to Inter Milan and Arjen Robben to Bayern Munich. For a time both of these players ranked among the very best in the world and would play decisive roles in leading their sides to Champions League titles long before Madrid ended their wait for La Decima.
Arsenal know better than most that the offcasts of Spain’s big two can be rich pickings indeed. In successive summers they acquired Mesut Ozil, the sacrificial lamb Madrid offered to bring in Gareth Bale, and Alexis Sanchez, whose place in the Barcelona hierarchy would be taken by Luis Suarez.
There is no question that the final side of the Arsene Wenger era ought to have achieved more than it did with the Sanchez-Ozil tandem at its fore but it should also not be forgotten that after signing the latter Arsenal won three FA Cups in four years. Had they not so utterly utterly thrown in the towel in the spring of 2016 that team built around unwanted La Liga stars would have also been Premier League champions.
Nearly five years on from the signing of Sanchez things are different at the Emirates Stadium. Ivan Gazidis’ promise that Arsenal would compete with the biggest players in the transfer market have failed to materialise as the wage bill spirals higher and higher.
The new plan is not to take what Madrid and Barcelona are offering but to find the sort of players that those two may eventually want to pay £100million or more for. Still they should be live to the opportunities that the Bernabeu overhaul creates.
Not least when it comes to the two extravagantly talented Croats on the Madrid payroll, either of whom could be an exceptional replacement for the outgoing Aaron Ramsey.
Luka Modric appeared bound for the exit door last summer, with Inter Milan ready to provide him with a starring role in his twilight years.
The 33-year-old would not come cheap in wages or transfer fee whilst his history with Tottenham might make him reluctant to make a return to the Premier League at the other end of the Seven Sisters Road. But he is also the holder of the Ballon d’Or and could offer something that no-one else in Unai Emery’s setup does.
If Modric cannot be acquired then Madrid already have his successor on their books. Mateo Kovacic has not set the world alight at Chelsea but often that seems more to be because Maurizio Sarri’s tactical approach demands a midfield of fall guys from the commentariat.
Paired with a Lucas Torreira or Matteo Guendouzi, Kovacic could bring Arsenal a level of playmaking from deep and ability to manipulate the ball in tight areas they have not had since injury hampered Santi Cazorla. Granit Xhaka has excelled but his passing style is more about pushing the ball out to the flanks rather than forging a way through the middle.