William Pacho is now being linked with a potential £35 million move to Real Madrid only a few months after the Eintracht Frankfurt defender was reportedly on Rangers’ watchlist.
With David Alaba becoming the third Real Madrid player to be struck down by the ACL curse – the Austrian joining Eder Militao and Thibaut Courtois in a treatment room about as packed as the London underground in rush hour – the phrase ‘one man’s misery is another’s fortune’ comes to mind.
William Pacho could not have imagined at the start of the summer – when he was being linked with a move to Rangers – that he would be going from Royal Antwerp to Real Madrid within the space of just a few months.
That, however, is threatening to become a very real possibility.
From Rangers to Real Madrid
According to AS, Pacho is one of a number of potential Alaba replacements under consideration by Real Madrid. Valued at around £35 million by current employers Eintracht Frankfurt, the 22-year-old Ecuador international is likely to come a damn sight cheaper than Sporting Lisbon’s Goncalo Inacio and Benfica’s Antonio Silva too.
“(Alaba’s injury) is a shame. We’re very sad because another player falls. What the team has to do is hold on as we have. Despite the problems, this team holds on,” Ancelotti tells Marca.
“We’ll see in the next few days if we can do anything (in the transfer window).”
Ancelotti loses David Alaba to ACL curse
Rangers, according to Het Nieuwsblad, sent scouts to watch Pacho in action for Royal Antwerp last term, the defender helping his former employers win Belgium’s top-flight for the first time in 57 years. His price-tag has risen considerably since then, a player who moved to Frankfurt for an initial £8 million now valued at closer to £35 million.
Rangers could look to bring in defensive reinforcements of their own in the New Year. Everton misfit Mason Holgate is an option. Hammarby, meanwhile, are refusing to rule out cashing in on their £4 million-rated Ghanaian stopper Nathaniel Adjei.
