After the double title last season—La Liga and Champions League—Florentino Pérez was reluctant to make transfers this summer. He limited himself to making THE transfer: Kylian Mbappé.
But injuries have revealed to the Real Madrid president in recent months that it's necessary to hit the market to strengthen the team.
Reinforcements with Starting Status
Ancelotti has been forced to balance what he has to make up for the absence of injured players.
The goal of the club is to consolidate the team with competitive players who have the level of starters. It's not easy, considering the quality of Real Madrid's team.
There has been a meeting of the crisis cabinet formed by the president, José Ángel Sánchez, Carlo Ancelotti, and Juni Calafat. Together they have designed the strategy to strengthen the team this summer.
The recent setbacks of the team promote measures to prevent them from happening again in the future.
Two Top-Level Full-backs
So it is revealed by the best-informed journalist when it comes to transfers: Fabrizio Romano. With a forward line and midfield full of stars, the urgencies come from the defensive area.
The Italian journalist doesn't refer to the arrival of Alphonso Davies, the Bayern left-back, who is already agreed upon. In January, he'll be able to negotiate freely with Real Madrid. With him, the story of David Alaba, Antonio Rüdiger, or Kylian Mbappé repeats itself.
The other priority is to cover the other full-back position—Carvajal's—with a top-tier player capable of competing with him and rotating. The chosen one is Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Liverpool full-back who has demanded a salary of 22 million per year from his clubto renew.
That's what he'll earn at Real Madrid, although split between the salary and the transfer bonus spread over three years.
Three Candidates for the Center-Back Position
With the two top-level full-backs already in the team, Real Madrid will tackle the arrival of a reliable center-back.
Militão is coming from two serious injuries. Rüdiger is getting old and David Alaba may not return to his pre-injury form.
Real Madrid has to consider everything and is weighing three names. One of the three will be chosen. The first is Aymeric Laporte, the Spanish national team center-back currently playing in Arabia.
The second one is Jonathan Tah, the Bayer Leverkusen center-back who is also desired by Barça. The third one is Castello Lukeba, a 22-year-old center-back from Leipzig.
The first two are the candidates most likely to wear the Real Madrid jersey next season. Ancelotti doesn't trust Asencio for that position, so the academy player will continue his progression as a full-back.
The Best Goalkeeper in the World
Real Madrid could have a new defense next season, covering three of its four positions. The fourth objective is simple: to ensure the continuity of the best goalkeeper in the world.
Thibaut Courtois's contract with Real Madrid ends in June 2026. Florentino doesn't want to wait until the last year to renew him and will offer him continuity in the coming days.
Real Madrid will make smart transfers. There won't be any transfers out of this world but there will be very important reinforcements in the defensive line.