体坛英语新闻：Palacios buoyed by Real Madrid transfer talk

MONTEVIDEO, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Argentinian midfielder Exequiel Palacios said on Tuesday that he could join Real Madrid during the January transfer window, but stressed that his immediate focus is on his current club River Plate.

Speculation linking Palacios with a move to the Bernabeu has mounted since River Plate president Rodolfo D'Onofrio revealed last month that Real Madrid scouts had enquired about the 20-year-old.

"It's hard not to get carried away by everything that is said on social media, all the talk about Real Madrid," Palacios told reporters in Uruguay, where River are training following a brief summer break.

"I'm trying to be calm and taking things day by day. But then you reflect and start to think about what a big club Real Madrid is and that there is a chance that I could go there."

Palacios, capped twice for Argentina's national team, is contracted to River Plate until June 2021.

Reports in Argentina suggest that the Buenos Aires club will ask for a transfer fee of 20 million euros to release the highly-rated playmaker, who was a part of the River team that beat fierce rivals Boca Juniors in the Copa Libertadores final last month.