In recent months, Iker Bravo has given himself a fighting chance to remain as a Real Madrid player in the long run. The 19-year-old, who has been on loan from Bayer Leverkusen since the summer of 2022, has been in prolific form for the U19 side, having been deemed not good enough for Castilla by head coach Raul Gonzalez.
There had been talk that Bravo could even return to the Bundesliga leaders in January, but he has stayed in the Spanish capital, which does give him a decent chance to be signed permanently. As reported by Marca, Real Madrid have a €10m buy option, which they are currently debating whether to trigger.
They could negotiate this price down, as Leverkusen are likely to be open to negotiations. Furthermore, the decision on whether Bravo will be signed could depend on a coaching switch in the youth setup – if Raul stays on as Castilla coach, there’s less chance for the teenager to be signed. However, Alvaro Arbeloa looks to be in a good position to be promoted from the U19 side, and it is he that counts on Bravo.
It remains to be seen whether Real Madrid do pull the trigger on Bravo. He is a promising player, although it’s a big outlay for someone that has shown little sights of affecting the B team, let alone Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.
