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So far, the 2018/19 season has been horrible for Real Madrid. The Galacticos dropped out of the Champions League against Ajax Amsterdam in the Round of 16, after winning the competition 3 times in a row.
They are in 3rd spot behind Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona in the La Liga, with the Catalonians nearly unreachable at the top. In addition, maybe the biggest harassment for Madrid: The three Classico losses since Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane both left the capital. Now in March, the latter was appointed to lead Real back to top after two disappointing managerial spells of Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari.
Having a budget of reported £330 million, the club definitely does not lack money and ambition to find the best solutions on every position. Some Galactico signings are needed, that could lead Madrid back to glory and fill the gaps.
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Goalkeeper:
Thibaut Courtois looked like a very promising player as he joined the team only one year ago. Another player for the Galactico side, the best goalkeeper of the World Cup was meant to succeed in the Bernabeu. He did cost Los Blancos only £31.5 million as he was in the last year of his contract. This huge sum is now coming back at Florentino Perez as Zidane could replace the Belgian with his old keeper Keylor Navas. As they still could get good money, they should sell Courtois to fund more needed transfers.
The already mentioned Navas should stay in the starting eleven, as he already did under their French coach in their previous three Champions League victories. Andrii Lunin should join the team back from loan. He is a very promising player and should get some starts as the team’s second keeper.
As a third keeper, Madrid could bring in someone like Roberto from Espanyol, who they should be able to get for nothing, as his contract is running out in the end of the season.
Defenders:
I start from the right side, where Dani Carvajal looks like the undisputed starter. Behind him, Real should bring back Achraf Hakimi. The player is putting up great performances at Dortmund and definitely warrants a chance at Madrid. Alvaro Odriozola should be loaned out to another LaLiga team, he is not on the level of Hakimi yet and some minutes would help him and his development.
In the center, Sergio Ramos is in a controversial position, even having fights with the president himself. In the end, he should stay at the Bernabeu. He is a legend there and still one of the best center-backs in the world. Especially as a leader, he is irreplaceable on the pitch. Raphael Varane was also linked with a move away from Spain, but he came out himself and said that a move was not happening. Probably the best defender from last year, he could not knot on the form of the world cup. Besides that, he still has enough quality to be a starter.
Éder Militão is the first transfer under the “new” regime of Zidane. At £45 million, the player can definitely not be called a bargain, but this amount is definitely justified. In his first season in Europe, the Brazilian won the “Best Defender of the Month” award in the Liga Nos 5 times in a row. Having only missed one game due to injury in his whole career, the player is also very reliable. At only 21 years old, he is putting up numbers of an experienced defender and therefore definitely looks like a great successor to the 32 years old Ramos.
Nacho Fernandez still deserves a place in the team. As he can play in every position in the back line, he is quite usable for a long season. He is very consistent, and despite having quite a bad season, the player can definitely still be a fourth option in the Bernabeu. Jesus Vallejo is a difficult case. He still got some potential in him, but as he was often injured over the last years. The best option would be to loan him out with a recall option, so Real can call him back if they should need a fifth center-back.
On the left side, Marcelo found himself back in the starting eleven under his old coach. He seems to be the main left-back option for the next season as well. Sergio Reguilón also earned himself a place in the first team after his impressive run under Solari. Theo Hernandez should be loaned out again. Depending on his performance, a decision should be made after that loan.
Midfielders:
I see Real Madrid starting to play the 4-2-3-1 more often this season. It would suit the squad and Zidane already played it in the first game for the “Los Blancos”.
Casemiro would shine in this midfield. Despite having a quite bad season, he is still one of the best players in the squad. He is a great tackler, solid passer and can cover for the creative players in front of him. Marcos Llorente has been a good backup to the Brazilian this season. He is kind of a deep-lying playmaker, but still got the tackling ability to replace his teammate. At only 24, the youth product still got some potential and could improve big time.
Mateo Kovacic is on the way out. The Croatian, who was loaned out to Chelsea this season, reportedly was offered by his agent to Inter and Chelsea at the end of the season. As Inter are linked with him, a £40-45 million deal could go through this summer.
The role of a deep-lying playmaker seems to be inherited by Toni Kroos. The German had a rather bad season, but still was one of the better Madrid players in this year. Everything but keeping him would be a rather dumb decision as he pulls the strings in the team’s midfield. Dani Ceballos is a natural successor to the team’s playmaker, putting up similar defensive numbers to Kroos. When he improves his passing numbers (especially passes per 90) the 22 years old player look like a perfect fit.
A big statement for change would be if Madrid sells Luka Modric. The Croatian is already 33 years old and even though he won the Ballon d'Or last year, Luka is on a big decline. It would not make sense to put him on the bench as he is on around £9 million a year. A transfer sum of around £20-30 million can be made on the world cup finalist.
In the double pivot, a big signing could help to stabilize the team’s performances. As I do not see Pogba leaving Manchester United, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic would be a very good fifth option in the squad. He is not linked with the Galacticos, but would suit the squad and could be worth a look at. A great physical player as he is, the Serbian is a threat offensively and defensively, winning many aerial duels. Milinkovic is also solid in defense, putting up 2 tackles and 1 interception a game. He is a dangerous player, as he shoots a lot, either outside or inside the box, and can put up great passes. He would add another aspect to Real’s game, being more of a box-to-box midfielder and that helps Zidane, as the 24 years old can play in various formations.
The transfer value of £60 million could be paid through the money Real receives by selling their Croatian midfield duo.
In the number 10 role, Isco is set to shine again. The 26 years old never found himself a place in the squad, because he never was able to fulfill his potential in any position. A pure number 10 as he is, Isco was never keen on playing on the wings or as an 8. In this new formation, he could finally be an undisputed starter.
James Rodriguez will not come back due to the maximum of three South American players per squad in LaLiga. He will probably be sold for £40 million to FC Bayern as they have such a cheap buy out clause implemented in the loan deal.
Brahim Diaz needs a loan and playing time, to develop into the player he could be.
For a backup to Isco, Kai Havertz comes to my mind. Another player who is not linked, but would definitely fit the squad. Playing mainly in the center-attacking-midfield role, the young German can play everywhere in the midfield and would therefore definitely play some minutes in the campaign. He puts up good numbers in dribbling, passing and shooting, as he already scored 7 times and made 5 assists this season. However, his main strength is his positioning off the ball, which is very good for a 19-year-old player. He would be the next £60 million transfer for Madrid in the summer.
Attackers:
Gareth Bale, who was thought to be the natural successor to Ronaldo, did not turn up the way anyone in the club hoped he would. His sale seems certain, according to various news outlets, and a sum of £50 million looks realistic.
Luca Vazquez is not on the level he once was. He always gives 110% percent, but in the last two seasons, this was not enough for a team like Madrid. For the sake of his playing time, he should leave the Spanish capital for around £15-20 million.
Marco Asensio’s best performances came from the right. If he gets enough space to roam around freely, the winger is definitely enough dangerous to warrant a stay at the club.
Another Galactico signing would be Paulo Dybala. The Juventus star seems no more as the first choice in Turin, as he only spent less than 70% of his possible minutes on the pitch. He played most of the games this season on the right wing, but can also play up front or behind the striker. The Argentinian also has Italian citizenship and would therefore not count to the non-European rule. He makes 2 key passes a game. This combined with great technic, pace and passing accuracy (89.7%), the player could transform into a new star in Spain. Dybala could leave the Italian league for around £90-100 million.
Vinicius Jr. is the star of the future. Already having great games at only 18, you can see that he will definitely be a world-beater. Less pressure would benefit his development and he could be the next big face of football.
To secure this, Eden Hazard will most likely join Madrid, as various sport media, like 90min.com, reported an agreement between Hazard and the team. The Chelsea star would not only help Vinicius, but he would also bring the team to a completely new level. He is a playmaker, a dribbler and goal getter in one and would flourish under Zidane. He is the world-class attacker Real missed this year. Considering his contract is running out at Chelsea, the Belgian should ab available for £80-90 million.
Karim Benzema and Mariano both were and simply are neither good nor clinical enough to lead the attack for Real. While the Frenchman is simply past his prime, the Dominican international will never be good enough to replace him. They should sell both players for an amount of £20-30 million each.
Raul de Tomas, who Real have loaned to Vallecano, already scored 11 of team’s 30 league goals this season. He is very good at shooting, in or outside the box. As a proven La Liga striker, de Tomas should be the perfect replacement for a new striker. At only 24 he also still got some potential.
The main striker should be no less a person than Mauro Icardi. He is another Argentinian, with an Italian passport, who fell out with his club. He is an amazing poacher, scoring at least 20 goals in every of the last five seasons. He is neither fancy nor a playmaker like Benzema, but Icardi is very efficient and exactly that, what Real Madrid needs right now. As he is no more first choice at Inter, the attacker should be available for around £100 million.
In conclusion:
This would leave Real Madrid with a net spend of approximately £225-250 million (including Militao) and a starting eleven like this:
The squad list would look like this:
GK: Navas, Lunin, Roberto
RB: Carvajal, Hakimi
CB: Ramos, Varane, Militao (NE), Nacho
LB: Marcelo, Reguilon
CM: Casemiro (NE), Kroos, Milinkovic-Savic, Llorente, Ceballos
CAM: Isco, Havertz
RW: Dybala, Asensio
ST: Icardi, De Tomas
LW: Hazard, Vinicius (NE)
Bold: New transfers, Cursive: Coming back from loan, (NE): Non-European
All the transfer values came from CIES, combined with the price listed on transfermartk.co.uk and the players standing in the club.
The source of all the statistics can be found on whoscored.com
This article is only a prediction, some of the buys and sells are not based on rumours. However all of those transfers could go through and this would, in my opinion, possibly be the best solution.
