It'll be very very stupid of the club to believe they are getting varnane, knowing that it's Madrid and even stupider if we are putting other CB signings on hold because of this.
Hope to god he signs his renewal contract fast, so that the club moves on. Else it'll continue to remain stuck with the idea of a star signing, rather than getting practical.
It would be even more stupid to think that we would know more than what the guys in our transfer team are doing or going on. It's always easy to be critical and assumes they are all being stupid and we know better.
Everyone isn't being honest or clear cut in showing their hands -- from the player's agents to the players to the 3rd party intermediaries to the buying and selling clubs.
So in a scenario that's full of moving goalposts, 5D chess with no clear cut information available, then one has to assume that things are never easy.
I for one, couldn't imagine how complex the situation is when considering that you have to maximise the deal (or work within budgetary constraint) so that you have enough money/budget left to pursue your prime #2 and #3 transfer targets downstream -- and each one will have moving goalposts. And I work in the (tech) industry where 9 out of 10 startups will fail.