Real Madrid pull fast one on rival Barcelona with move for Danilo

Barcelona was in pole position to sign Danilo. The Porto right back had been identified by the Catalan club as its top target to replace Dani Alves this summer and negotiations were already underway. A few months on, however, and the 23-year-old will not be joining Barcelona. Worse still for the Blaugrana, he has agreed a move to Real Madrid instead.

Danilo is a good friend of Neymar and was interested in linking up with his former Santos teammate at Camp Nou, but Madrid took advantage of uncertainty with the Barca board, the departure of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta in January and the Catalans' transfer ban which would mean they would be unable to field any new signings until 2016.

As Barca dallied, Madrid stole a march on its fiercest rival and has now confirmed a deal to bring in a player the club arguably needs less than Barca but one who will undoubtedly improve the playing squad for next season.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted he was a fan of the player and the cost of the operation means Danilo will be expected to slot straight into Madrid's first team next term. "Danilo is a player I like," the Italian said at the beginning of March. "But we are not thinking of signings at the moment."

Madrid was, however, and he can now begin to make plans for the Brazilian's inclusion in the starting XI for 2015-16.

Danilo's arrival means Alvaro Arbeloa is now set to leave Madrid after six seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu. Ancelotti has also grown frustrated with the poor performances of Dani Carvajal as Real has struggled in the games against top teams like Barcelona and Atletico over the past two seasons. Ancelotti may yet leave the club in the summer, but Danilo has been earmarked as a player who can offer a similar threat to Marcelo on the right flank while he is considered a better defender than Carvajal, who is often caught out of position.

Danilo is a traditional Brazilian fullback and loves to get forward and attack. At Santos, he often played further forward in a midfield role or as a winger (as Alves has done at Barca on many occasions), scoring several goals for the Brazilian side. For Porto, he also gets forward well from his right back role, but needs to improve his delivery from wide positions.

Meanwhile, he is currently utilized as a specialist defender in Dunga's more conservative Selecao side in which the fullbacks are expected to operate mainly in their own half and maintain discipline positionally while attacking within a specific structure. "Danilo has been in the team for a long time now and he has done really well," Dunga said last week. "He is very solid in defense and he is improving his attacking contribution all the time."

All of that suits Madrid, although there will need to be understanding and organization to ensure both fullbacks do not get caught in forward positions at the same time, as has happened with Marcelo and Carvajal against top teams like Barcelona and Atletico over the past two seasons.

With Alves out of contract in the summer, Barca had hoped to sign the player likened to the 31-year-old Brazilian, but not even Neymar was able to persuade his friend to snub a move to the Bernabeu and switch to Camp Nou instead.  "Danilo is a great player who is good enough to play for any team in the world," Neymar said recently. "As a friend of his, I want him to decide what is best for him and for him to feel good about what he chooses. That is the important thing."

But Barca's loss looks like being Madrid's gain as the world's most sought after right back has chosen Real over the Catalan club and the Blaugrana now need to keep looking to fill their problem position for 2015-16.

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