Modric waits on Bellingham and Kroos for renewal as Madrid eye Vlahovic and Richarlison 

With the Club World Cup won, Real Madrid are preparing for the most decisive stretch of the season.

In the next five weeks, their fate in the three competitions in which they are still in will become much clearer: LaLiga (which has become very difficult with Barcelona 11 points ahead of them), in the Copa del Rey (a two-legged semi-final with the Blaugrana) and in the Champions League (a tie with last year's finalists Liverpool).

In the offices at Valdebebas, work is already underway to plan and put together the squad for next season.

As happens every year, there are clear decisions regarding the continuity or not of some players, and in other cases the individual performance between now and the end of the season and how the season ends on a general level.

There have been cases such as that of Dani Ceballos, who in October was all but certain to leave and now the club is going to offer him a renewal in view of his good performance in this last stretch.

Karim Benzema, whose contract expires in the summer, will be offered a renewal for one more season, as is the club's rule for players over 30 (he is 35), and there is a clause in his contract that guarantees this possibility of extension if he wins the Ballon d'Or.

He is the main figure of the team and despite the five muscular injuries he has suffered so far this season, which have caused him to miss 13 games, he has 14 goals and 4 assists in 22 games.

Toni Kroos is a very special case. At 33 years of age, he is considering the possibility of retiring from football at the end of the season, and the club is keeping an eye on his decision.

The German has played 30 games, 26 of them as a starter (2 goals and 4 assists), he has only missed one due to a flu infection and this season he is the third player in the squad with the highest percentage of minutes played (71%) after Vinicius and Valverde. Last year he played 65% of the total and was the eighth most used player by Ancelotti.

Inside Real Madrid they are also calm about the German's future because there is no discussion: if he wants to continue he will renew for another year.

Luka Modric has so far played 29 games (5 goals and 3 assists), 21 of them as a starter, he has only missed two games due to muscular discomfort and in terms of minutes he is the ninth player in the Real Madrid squad who has played the most (60%), slightly less than last year (he was the seventh player with 66%).

The Croatian would like to continue for another year and is waiting for a call from Real Madrid to offer him a season's renewal.

For their part, the club have not made him such an offer because they want to know if they can make the strategic signing they have set themselves to reinforce the squad and complete the transition of a legendary midfielder: England's Jude Bellingham.

The Club World Cup has once again made it clear that in important matches, Kroos and Modric are fixed starters for Ancelotti. This is one of the reasons why the sporting directors see the two veteran midfielders as incompatible with Bellingham next season if the Dortmund man ends up arriving.

And age is the main factor that leads them to think that in the event of not offering a renewal to one of the two, it would have to be Modric. In addition to his playing characteristics, he is considered to be more similar to the Englishman.

These are the tolls that come with the tremendous demands of the most demanding club in the world. Because the idea that legendary players retire at Real Madrid sounds very nice but it is hardly ever true.

Inside the club, they believe that if that scenario were to happen, it would be Luka Modric himself who would understand the situation. And faced with a scenario that would in all likelihood lead him to become a regular on the bench, he would know how to step aside, putting an end to his spectacular spell at Real Madrid after eleven seasons in which he has made a decisive contribution to the second golden age of the club.

But for that to happen, Madrid would have to sign Bellingham and Kroos would have to decide to stay on for another year.

Meanwhile, Madrid are said to be looking at the possibility of signing Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus and Richarlison from Tottenham.

In the case of Vlahovic, the aim would be to secure the 23-year-old from a sanction-hit Juventus for a lower fee, whereas Richarlison might cost more since Spurs just paid more than 65m euros for him.

Real Madrid have already scouted Vlahovic extensively and have good reports on him, while Carlo Ancelotti knows Richarlison well from their time together at Everton.

The report about the links to these two players is from ESPN, where Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez explain that, according to their sources, Vlahovic and Richarlison are just two of the names Real Madrid are considering as they have decided that strengthening the attack is a priority.