Alvaro Odriozola leaves Real Madrid to join Fiorentina on loan

Real Madrid have confirmed that Alvaro Odriozola has left the club to join Serie A outfit Fiorentina on a season-long loan.

The 25-year-old has been a bit-part player for Los Blancos since joining from Real Sociedad in 2018, and spent the second half of the 2019/20 season on loan at Bayern Munich. He has not featured at all for the Merengues this year, and they have actively been looking for a new home for the defender.

And Odriozola has been handed the chance to prove his worth in Serie A this season, after Fiorentina landed the Spaniard on a season-long loan from Madrid. The Spanish giants confirmed the full-back's departure on Saturday, as they continue reducing their bloated squad.

The defender is delighted to have joined Fiorentina, and also said that he'd spoken to former Madrid star Jose Callejon about a potential move to Florence.

“I am really happy to be here, at a historic club like Fiorentina. I really want to start training and playing to have a great season," Odriozola said.

"I'm sure it will be a great season, I'm sure. I want to get to know the city - they told me it's wonderful - and also to get to know our fans. I talked to Callejon, I know him and he is a wonderful person as well as being a great player, he spoke very well about the city and the club."

Odriozola joins fellow new signings Lucas Torreira and Matija Nastasic as recent recruits at Fiorentina, who are hoping for a better season under Vincenzo Italiano.

As for Madrid, they are determined to remove plenty of high earners and deadwood from their squad this summer, as they engineer a move for Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe.

The Merengues will need to pay around €200m for the World Cup winner, although PSG may be willing to accept an offer closer to €180m.