Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa is set to have two familiar faces among his attacking options thanks to a double transfer deal with Spanish giants Real Madrid, according to reports.
Former Real Madrid player and coach Arbeloa worked with a number of the club’s junior teams and is understood to be the driving force behind Fulham’s swoop to replace attacking midfielder Harry Wilson and striker Raul Jimenez.
The Cottagers are closing in on Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios in a deal worth a total in the region of £43 million, the bulk of which is attributable to 22-year-old Garcia. Both players will be subject to a 30 percent sell-on clause.
Fulham and Real Madrid agree double deal
“All being well, the pair will follow head coach Alvaro Arbeloa to Craven Cottage from the Spanish capital,” reports The Athletic.
“Garcia and Palacios are set to become the first new arrivals of the summer, following Swedish forward Jonah Kusi-Asare, who joined on a permanent basis from Bayern Munich after spending the 2025-26 season on loan at Craven Cottage.
“Sources with knowledge of the situation indicated Madrid had decided months ago that Garcia would leave this summer – but the process was put on hold after [Jose] Mourinho’s arrival, as the new head coach wanted to see the striker in pre-season.
“The Portuguese liked the player but was not able to guarantee a prominent role in the team next season as it stands, leaving the choice on his future up to Garcia.”
Garcia won his first senior cap in Spain’s World Cup warm-up match against Iraq in June and has gradually been making an impression at the Bernabeu. He was a regular scorer for Real Madrid B and leaves the club with 13 first-team goals to his name.
He made 39 appearances in all competitions last term, scoring eight times. The young striker started twice in the Champions League and nine times in La Liga but has little hope of playing regularly with Kylian Mbappe ahead of him.
Palacios, valued at under £10 million by the reported agreement, has been at Real Madrid since 2020 and played primarily for the B side last season. He featured in seven senior matches for Real Madrid in 2025-26, all of them under Arbeloa.
Fulham’s first new signings mark a step in the right direction at the height of a difficult summer.
Their Premier League status has been rock-solid since Marco Silva took over as manager but the call of Benfica proved too tempting to resist for the Lisbon-born gaffer, who succeeded Mourinho at the Estadio da Luz in June.
Jimenez returned to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Harry Wilson switched to Leeds United, both on free transfers. Defender Issa Diop joined Ipswich Town for a reported fee of around £8.5 million.
The Cottagers’ Premier League campaign gets underway with a Monday night home fixture against retooled local rivals Chelsea on August 24.
