As one of the richest clubs in world football and pioneers of the mega-money transfer, Real Madrid are always expected to power through the pandemic's financial constraints and splash out on a marquee signing or two in the summer.
Erling Haaland, Paul Pogba Kylian Mbappe and all the usual names had been linked, while reports in Spain recently suggested the latter is expecting a fresh approach from Madrid before the window closes.
But, this time around, the story is different.
The President of Real Madrid – Florentino Perez – has decided that there would be no new signings in the summer transfer window and with that, the speculations over big names like Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe coming to Santiago Bernabeu has been laid to rest.
And with that, this would be the second consecutive summer that Real Madrid would not sign anyone – an unfamiliar scenario for the Real Madrid fans, who are habituated to witness the singings of big names since that transfer of Luis Figo in 2000.
This decision might have added more fuel to the fire in the expectations of the fans, who think that better signings are much needed for this unit that has been struggling since that glorious season of 2017-18.
The defence is one are where Real Madrid needed to solidify – certainly, after the departure of Sergio Ramos and if Raphael Varane leaves for Manchester United, then, the new coach Carlo Ancelotti would have to work with the resources available.
The resources are not bad either - in the last season, Eder Militao has come of age and proved his worth, while Nacho Fernandez proved, if anyone is given enough playing time then he can boost his confidence and deliver the best. The injection of David Alaba is satisfactory and on the right and left full-back positions – Ferland Mendy, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal are available along with the all-round capabilities of Lucas Vazquez and even Fede Valverde.
The names mentioned above in the full-back positions had not been up to the mark in the last season apart from Vazquez. Mendy and Marcelo were inconsistent, especially Marcelo while the injury of Carvajal left Zidane experimenting with the position where Vazquez proved his worth – even Valverde dropped deeper and played his part as a right-back.
But one can’t go with experimenting time and again, rather the ideal way would be to find a permanent solution and for which, rather than going for flying wing-backs, Carlo Ancelotti might just think about going with four centre-backs and he has the options.
Real Madrid would still keep the faith in the legendary midfield trio of Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric; but with Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard returning from Arsenal, Ancelotti might have to think about different formation to allocate spaces for them, still, for Real Madrid, the 4-3-3 option is the best and Kroos, Casemiro and Modric should be the way to go.
Upfront, Vinicius Junior, Marco Asensio, Rodrygo Goes and Karim Benzema would be the goal-scorers for Ancelotti and even though someone like Eden Hazard is there, one cannot trust his fitness and till now, Hazard has been a waste of money – if Real Madrid does not sign anyone then at least, sell Hazard.
Gareth Bale would return to Real Madrid after spending a season on loan in North London, but it is not the Bale of the past and whether Real Madrid should give him enough playing time or not remains a moot question.
Benzema would remain the hit-man and the support must come from wings – Vinicius, Rodrygo or Asensio or even Vazquez, who, as a winger, upfront, had been better well last season.
With no new signings for Real Madrid, Ancelotti would have to build up with the players he has and even though, the lack of new summer signings for two consecutive seasons might annoy many, but on a positive note, it is always better to rely on the home-grown players who could be groomed for a bright future under coaches like Ancelotti.
Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 20/07/2021 No summer signings for Real Madrid
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Faisal Caesar
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