So, reports are circulating through Spain that Sergio Canales, this year's Bojan or Messi, has signed for Real Madrid, and details of the contract will be forthcoming next week. The kid will play for a couple more years at the Estadio El Sardinero for the cantabrians on loan as he continues to develope as a player. Racing Santander are happy as they keep their most promising player on loan and in the fold until he's 20. Real Madrid are happy as they finally have that Lionel Messi player they have been looking for (and waiting to market) and the player knows that his future is secure for the moment, the contract is set, and he can play everyday at Racing in the meantime an option that was a deal-breaker apparently for the English clubs that came in for him.

It's a gamble; there are very few teenagers who have succeeded so early (Cristiano, Cesc, Rooney and Messi notwithstanding), consistency of play is always a factor (Bojan Krkic and Gio Dos Santos are good examples) and the Real Madrid training ground in particular is littered with the memory of players whose promising careers stalled on the bench of the Bernabeu (or have we forgotten Antonio Cassano). It is a hard and demanding stage that players find when they step onto the pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu. It is hard enough for the experienced player to succeed and win over those hardened and jaded supporters, but the pressure is incredible for a young player with the reputation as an emerging star. If he's anything close for Real Madrid to what we have seen so far for Racing then it is a smart piece of business for Perez, Valdano and company.