Madrid, Jun 11 (IANS): Real Madrid on Saturday announced that attacking midfielder Brahim Diaz returned to the club after three seasons on loan at AC Milan and had signed a new contract to keep him until the end of June 2027.

Diaz is the third arrival of the summer for Real Madrid following the signings of midfielder Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund and left back Fran Garcia from Rayo Vallecano, reports Xinhua.

"The 23-year-old forward returns to our club after three seasons at Milan, where he clinched the Scudetto in the 2021-22 campaign and reached the semifinals of last season's UEFA Champions League.

"Brahim signed for Real Madrid in January 2019 from Manchester City, and won La Liga in 2019-20 and the Spanish Super Cup 2020. In September 2020, he was loaned to AC Milan, where he excelled in the last three seasons, scoring 18 goals in all competitions," confirmed the Real Madrid website.

Diaz made just 21 appearances, scoring two goals in one season and a half he was initially with Real Madrid, and joined AC Milan due to the lack of opportunities at the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, the departures of Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema and Mariano Diaz this summer, along with the fact that Dani Ceballos has still to agree a new contract, have opened a door for his return, although there has been speculation in the Spanish press in recent days that the club could use him as a make-weight in a possible move to sign Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze this summer.