Real Madrid signs Sergio Martinez from Racing for 3 million euros for Castilla

A 19-year-old midfielder who already knows what it feels like to score in La Liga. That, in a nutshell, is what Real Madrid has just added for its reserve side. The white club has closed the signing of Sergio Martinez, arriving from Racing de Santander, paying his release clause in full: 3 million euros. The Cantabrian club has already made the transfer official.

The initial plan is for Martinez to bolster Castilla this season, though at Valdebebas there's a more ambitious idea on the table: having the young midfielder train with Jose Mourinho's first team as well. It wouldn't be a leap into the unknown. The midfielder already made his La Liga debut with Racing, freshly promoted, and did so in style: he scored in his league debut, in a 2-2 draw against Villarreal, and played in the competition's first two matchdays.

Madrid had been tracking him for months, but the deal picked up speed in recent weeks for a very specific reason: Mourinho decided to promote Thiago Pitarch to the first team, leaving a gap in Castilla's midfield that needed to be filled quickly. That's where Martinez comes in, a player the club praises for his ball control, his vision and that knack for linking play through the middle that had been in short supply at the reserve side this year following the departures of Cesar Palacios, Manuel Angel and Pitarch himself.

Competition for his signature was fierce. Barcelona also explored signing him to strengthen its own reserve team, but Real Madrid ultimately won out in the negotiations, both by convincing the player and by putting the release clause money on the table.

Zinebi and Naasei round out the list of new arrivals

Castilla hasn't stopped there. With the start of the league season just around the corner, Madrid's reserve side has also wrapped up the signings of Rayan Zinebi and Oscar Naasei, both arriving from Granada.

Zinebi is a 19-year-old Moroccan forward who will be registered with Real Madrid C, but who in practice comes in to fill the spot left by Jacobo Ortega at Castilla. Naasei, meanwhile, brings something different: defensive versatility. He can play as a center back or right back, is 21 years old and arrives as an already established name in Spain's Segunda Division following his time at Granada. Madrid will pay 2 million euros for him.

Three signings, three different profiles, one shared goal: for Castilla to be as well equipped as possible for a season in which it will also have to fill the gaps the first team keeps leaving behind every time it promotes one of its young players.