The lack of a recognised alternative  to left-back Ferland Mendy has been  an issue for Real Madrid. They’re set  to remedy that by buying Fran García.

The Rayo Vallecano player is close to sealing a return to the club where he spent seven years as a youth teamer.

García left Madrid for Rayo in 2020, initially on loan. He joined permanently a year later, with Los Merengues retaining a 50% stake in the player.

Bayer Leverkusen’s interest in the  23-year-old has sparked Madrid into action. The Germans were ready to  pay his €10m buy-out figure.

AS understands that other clubs  such as Inter Milan were also keen, leaving Madrid in no doubt: now is the moment to snap the youngster up.

García is eager to return to the Bernabéu, and has made this clear to his agent, Ginés Carvajal, who also represents Madrid's Dani Carvajal.

Madrid’s plan is to complete a deal  for the player in the January transfer window, then loan him back to Rayo until the end of the season.

The left-back has been a fixture in Andoni Iraola’s side at Vallecas.  This term, he has made 18 appearances, supplying two assists.

García is a menacing presence on the left. Blessed with plenty of pace, he opens teams up with his incisive overlapping runs and good crossing.

When Rayo met Madrid in LaLiga  this season, he showed his former club what they’re missing. He starred for Los Franjirrojos as they won 3-2.

He set Santi Comesaña up for Rayo’s opener, had an 81.3% pass-completion rate (67.9% in the Real Madrid half), and won 100% of his duels.

Not even the “he’s staying” photo posted by Rayo colleague Mario Suárez can halt García’s departure. We all know how this story’s going to end.