Fulham have opened talks with Real Madrid over two players from Álvaro Arbeloa's old dressing room, the Israeli outlet ONE reports — a permanent move for young striker Gonzalo García and a season-long loan for Argentine playmaker Franco Mastantuono.
Arbeloa, unveiled as Fulham head coach on July 8 after Marco Silva departed for Benfica, knows both players well. He took charge of Real Madrid Castilla in May 2025, then found himself running the senior side on an interim basis after Xabi Alonso's exit in January, before José Mourinho arrived to take permanent control. García broke through under him at Castilla, while Mastantuono made his early Real Madrid appearances during that same stretch.
García, 22, is a product of Real Madrid's academy who forced his way into the first-team picture last season, contributing to the club's Champions League and LaLiga triumphs along the way. Fulham are preparing a formal offer and see him as an attacking reinforcement for the new Premier League campaign.
Real Madrid are open to selling him — reports in Spain suggest the club had planned for García to leave even before Mourinho's arrival — but want to protect their long-term interest, either through a buy-back clause or a sell-on percentage, rather than a clean-break sale.
Mourinho, for his part, wants to run the rule over García during preseason training before Real Madrid sign off on any exit, meaning a final answer on his future is unlikely to arrive immediately.
Mastantuono is a different proposition: at 18, he is one of the most closely guarded prospects in Madrid. He joined from River Plate in 2025 after becoming Argentina's youngest ever full international, and Real Madrid regard him as part of their long-term core rather than a player to be sold.
That is why any move for the winger would be a loan rather than a permanent departure, with the fee structure still to be worked out and Real Madrid, according to some reports, still reluctant to let him leave at all this window. Fulham are pushing for the arrangement to include no option to buy attached, in line with what Madrid have indicated they will accept.
Fulham are not alone in the chase — Tottenham have also made contact with Real Madrid to sound out the conditions of a possible Mastantuono loan, adding urgency to Arbeloa's efforts to get a deal wrapped up quickly.
Nothing is close to signed on either front. Both moves hinge on Mourinho's preseason evaluations in Madrid and on face-to-face talks between the manager and the two players before Real Madrid's board engages formally with Fulham's proposals.
