Coach Arbeloa wants to poach players from Real Madrid: Fulham are in talks to sign Thiago Pitarch.

Fulham are continuing their campaign to strengthen their squad by placing Real Madrid's young midfielder Thiago Pitarch on their top target list. This move is part of manager Alvaro Arbeloa's consistent strategy of building the English team around former players from the Valdebebas academy.

The reconstruction plan is based on the Valdebebas framework.

According to the newspaper Marca, Fulham's management has begun preliminary exploration into the possibility of signing the Spanish midfielder. However, negotiations are currently being conducted cautiously because the 18-year-old has just recovered from a knee injury. In addition, the London club is still considering other personnel options to ensure tactical depth.

Notably, this isn't the first time Fulham has tried to poach young talents from the Castile giants. The Craven Cottage side previously planned to spend up to €50 million to acquire the talented duo of Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios from Valdebebas. Fulham's coaching staff believed that the physically demanding and fast-paced environment of the Premier League would be the ideal springboard for young players to reach their full potential.

A breakthrough opportunity for the midfielder born in 2007.

Thiago Pitarch made incredibly impressive progress under the direct guidance of coach Alvaro Arbeloa at the youth level, before officially being promoted to the Real Madrid first team in the 2025/26 season. The player born in 2007 quickly demonstrated a modern footballing mindset and good individual technique in the rare opportunities he was given to play.

However, Real Madrid's midfield is currently fiercely competitive, significantly limiting Pitarch's opportunities to play regularly. This is prompting the 18-year-old midfielder to seriously consider a move to England to secure a starting place and reunite with his former coach.

Currently, the deal is still at the stage of exchange and assessment of terms. However, the close relationship between manager Arbeloa and Thiago Pitarch, along with Fulham's determination to upgrade their midfield, could be key to activating this transfer in the near future.