OPEN THREAD — Reduction In Force: 27 Jan. 2026

Welcome to The Daily Merengue — a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name!

Shoutout to the Mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, Ezek XI, KungFuZizou, NeRObutBlanco, Felipejack, and Juninho.

A Collection of Memos

Writer’s Prelude. Today’s memo will be more traditional than most Juninho memos as there’s just simply less to say.

To: MM

“Orderly financial exchange is the basis of harmony. Money tames the beast. Money is peace. Money… money is civilization. The end of the story is money.” – Eric Tao

NotMuch To Say. Today, there isn’t much to say for this DT which may be a good thing. After the raging storms of the past 2 weeks, maybe we should all simply delight in the calm serene winds of today. At least for the next 24 hours, there’s no wins / losses, no need to feud about coaching styles, no need for a future permutations of our lineup. Just a day to enjoy football and revel in other fan’s problems while watching the Champions League. So with that in mind, I’ll try to keep the majority of this DT quite brief and simply talk about “money”.

Alex Jimenez.

By now, you’ve likely already read most reports that Bournemouth is about to purchase La Fabrica product Alex Jimenez for 22M; therefore, generating ~10M for Real Madrid (due to a 50% clause). And many of you are likely either completely uninterested with this signing or what it may / may not signify. Just to quickly backtrack for anyone who doesn’t know of Alex — he’s a promising Castilla RB who was purchased by AC Milan in I believe 24/25 and currently at loan at Bournemouth with a purchase clause. Iraola has seem to find use in the youngster giving him 19 starts and around 1300 minutes throughout the season. In many ways, Alex showcases the pure financial genius of La Fabrica (where Real Madrid often uses academy players as future assets). A player who had outgrown Castilla but wasn’t necessarily good enough for the first-team (at least at the time being) has now become a sellable asset for a mid-table club where he can continue his career progression.

However, and a more sinister question, arises regarding Real Madrid’s future planning. With Dani Carvajal approaching the end of his career and TAA often injured (note: Trent suffered from soft tissue injuries during his stint at Liverpool. His injuries aren’t something new — we could have predicted them), would Alex be a worthwhile addition to the current squad? Is there a chance that we aren’t giving enough chances to some of our more promising academy players or is this simply a product of potentially holding on to depreciating assets for far too long?

Personally, I’m not really bothered by the sale of Alex but it raises some questions on what is a proper and balanced policy as far as it comes to academy players? Earnestly, is any top flight club really getting this production cycle right (besides Barca)?

Contractual Guarantees. More of a question rather than an answer, I’ve lately thought about Endrick / Mats / Nico Paz and wondered if it makes sense or if its proper for the board to guarantee playtime to youth players? I guess to backtrack slightly — early reports indicate that Franco’s playtime has often been linked to a contractual guarantee when purchasing the player rather than his own innate ability. Franco at the time was more than willing to stay at River Plate (as it was seen as the best driver to get him into the Argentina WC squad) but was convinced after Juni Calafat & co. promised him substantial minutes. In many ways this report makes sense because after witnessing the 1-2 year minutes of Arda & Endrick…most youngsters would need contractual promises that they won’t rot on the bench. However, is there a case to be made that these expectations are harmful to the squad’s harmony? Is it disruptive for players (especially academy players) to know that other young talents may have an easier path towards minutes despite potentially the same output? Nevertheless, without guarantees why would say a Nico Paz leave Como for Madrid? Well besides the money.

RIF Rumors. Now a few rumors coming from Skysports / French reports / some of my sources that may peak a few interests (note: I’m just really going to drop them in here and elaborate some other time or when you see them through more mainstream media).

Klopp — there are preliminary discussions there and a willingness for the German coach to take the reins at Madrid. However, he is expected to arrive with a few conditions regarding player acquisitions and sales. Depending on results with a few players, club looks like it’ll be willing to relent.

Transfer targets — big name 9 and two midfielders (CM / DLP). Real interest in Vitinha. Real interest in Moroccan CM. CBs likely monitored but not prioritized.

Vini — Real isn’t as happy with Vini as it appears tho the club is still interested in renewing Vini but at the right price. It isn’t clear if a renewal is just a means for a future sale. His agents are engaging with Prem clubs but don’t seem to have a buyer atm + Vini waiting to see next RM coach.

Brahim — looks to be on the move this summer as he searches for more consistent minutes. Rumors of Milan from less credible sources.

Cheers,

J

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“buy the dip. short VIX. f*ck bitcoin“