Real Madrid will be offering Portuguese defenders Fabio Coentrao and Pepe new contracts in the near future say Spanish paper AS.
This will come as a surprise to Coentrao, who in the summer was deemed surplus to requirements at the Santiago Bernabeu, and saw a move to Manchester United fall through on transfer deadline day to the devastation of the player himself.
The left back had been attracting interest from various clubs, especially Tottenham, who are believed to be mulling over a loan bid for the player in January.
Central defender Pepe had a falling out with former Real manager Jose Mourinho last season after losing his place to young French centre-back Raphael Varane, but Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is believed to be extremely impressed with the player’s recent form.
Both players share an agent in Jorge Mendes – one of the most influential agents in world football, with clients including Mourinho, Real’s own Cristiano Ronaldo and Monaco’s Radamel Falcao – who is in talks with Los Blancos officials over the new deals.
The pair are likely to both start for their country this Friday in the first leg of Portugal’s huge World Cup play-off tie against Sweden as they hope to seal their place in Brazil next summer.
