Fulham have agreed deals to sign Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios for a combined fee of €50m (£42.9m; $57.4m) from Real Madrid.
The proposals value Garcia at €40m and Palacios at €10m, and include a 30 per cent sell-on clause for each player. All being well, the pair will follow head coach Alvaro Arbeloa to Craven Cottage from the Spanish capital.
The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Fulham were in advanced talks over the 22-year-old striker Garcia, and were making progress in their efforts to sign the 21-year-old attacking midfielder Palacios.
Sources briefed on the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, had expressed confidence that both signings will be completed, with the pair keen to play in the Premier League under Arbeloa, whom they worked with in Madrid’s youth system.
Fulham have lost two major attacking options this summer following the expirations of their contracts — last season’s top scorer Harry Wilson, who has joined Leeds United, and Raul Jimenez, who has re-signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Palacios, 21, is an attacking midfielder (Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)
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.
Garcia has received attention from multiple clubs across Europe this year, after breaking into the Madrid squad from the academy.
He made 39 appearances for the first team last season — the majority of which as a substitute — scoring eight times, including a hat-trick against Real Betis in January. This followed an impressive series of performances at last summer’s Club World Cup, where he won the tournament’s Golden Boot with four goals.
Meanwhile, Palacios featured seven times for Real Madrid’s first team last season, five of which came in La Liga, after making his debut in January.
The Athletic reported in June that the failure of Madrid Castilla to secure promotion to the Spanish second tier last season was likely to accelerate the departures of several academy players seeking regular senior football.
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 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.
Four of Garcia’s eight goals last season came after Arbeloa succeeded Xabi Alonso as head coach in January.
Arbeloa signed a three-year contract at Fulham this summer, replacing Marco Silva, who joined Benfica as the successor to Mourinho — who replaced Arbeloa at Madrid.
