Real Madrid has had an obvious problem this season with injuries, which has greatly affected the defense, especially the center of the back line. There has been no center-back pairing that has been undisputed starters and had continuity under Carlo Ancelotti, and Xabi Alonso in the Club World Cup was also unable to provide the continuity needed to strengthen and consolidate the defense. Everything points to Dean Huijsen being the undisputed starter, but who will accompany him?
A defense with no fixed names
Throughout the season, Carlo Ancelotti has had an obvious problem with the defense, due to both performance and a plague of injuries that has made his task very difficult. This is why there has been no solid, established center-back pairing that has been a fixture in the starting eleven and provided security to the team. It has been practically a case of starting from scratch with every game, which has generated a lot of doubts and at times the Whites have been a sieve at the back.
Carlo Ancelotti was forced to use twelve different center-back pairings last season. The three he used most frequently were:
• Rüdiger – Asencio (16 times)
• Rüdiger – Militão (14 times)
• Rüdiger – Tchouaméni (12 times)
Rüdiger was the only constant, albeit playing through constant pain. Now the situation is different, as Xabi Alonso has all his center backs available, with five in the squad, which also means that decisions have to be made.
Dean Huijsen and someone else
It seems clear that the brand new and expensive signing of Dean Huijsen has arrived to be a starter, and he proved it during the Club World Cup where his performance was outstanding. Beyond the mistake against Borussia that cost him the suspension against PSG, the player has shown why Real Madrid went all out to sign him: security at the back, power in the air, control of the ball, and great ball distribution.
With him as an undisputed starter, it remains to be seen who will partner him. There are doubts and no decision seems to have been made until Xabi Alonso sees what happens in the short preseason he will have. On the one hand, there are doubts about Asencio, who had earned his stripes but lost his starting spot with a disastrous World Cup. In principle, everything points to Eder Militao being the starting center back alongside Huijsen, but he is coming off many months on the sidelines after a complicated injury and, as with Rüdiger, who already played a leading role in the United States but is still not in top form, and Alaba, we will have to see what kind of shape he is in when the season starts.
Signings on the horizon
With this scenario, the Whites are not ruling out turning to the transfer market to strengthen their defense. There are two center backs in their sights who were expected to arrive next summer when Rüdiger and Alaba’s contracts expire, but their signings could be brought forward to provide greater security in defense. We are talking about Ibrahima Konaté and William Saliba.
The former seems to be close to a deal with the Whites to arrive on a free transfer next summer. Liverpool, aware of this situation, are not ruling out letting him go now and making a profit from the deal. The English side would like to get around $50 million for the transfer, while Real Madrid do not want to go above $25 million. We will have to see how the summer progresses and how the deal ends up.
On the other hand, Saliba’s situation is more complex as he has a contract with Arsenal until 2027. The Frenchman also seems convinced that he wants to move to the Santiago Bernabéu and there is even talk that he would be willing to make a financial effort to wear the white shirt.