Real Madrid News
Carlo Ancelotti sees 29-year-old star as emergency central defensive option
With the winter transfer market just over a month away, it is unclear if Real Madrid will turn towards a new signing in defence especially after the injury of Eder Militao.
The Brazilian star will not feature again this season after suffering an ACL blow, while David Alaba’s recovery is still not complete even a year after his ACL injury.
The resultant situation sees the manager with only Antonio Rudiger as a natural and fit centre-back option. Yet, the club appear stubborn in not reinforcing the position in January.
The Mendy option
As relayed in a recent update by AS, Ancelotti currently sees the Aurelien Tchouameni-Rudiger combination to be the best bet for the team and will begin utilising that option once the Frenchman is back from injury.
Raul Asencio, meanwhile, is the best-placed first-choice backup and will cover the central defence even for the coming games alongside the German star.
The report also furthers that Ancelotti sees Ferland Mendy as his next-best central defensive option should the situation ever demand it. In fact, he is even ahead of Jesus Vallejo, a natural centre-back, on the pecking order.
If there are no new signings in January, the French full-back will thus serve as the coach’s wildcard to play in central defence as an emergency solution.
Notably, Mendy has played as centre-back for Real Madrid only twice, both of which happened in 2021 under Zinedine Zidane. If he plays centrally, Fran Garcia will cover the left-back position.
So far this season, the 29-year-old has made nine appearances for Real Madrid and has overseen two clean sheets in that duration. Further, he averages over five defensive actions per game.
Jose Mourinho is looking for solutions to Real Madrid’s problems, and the extended international break has given him time to analyse the team in depth.
Now, according to Defensa Central, one of the conclusions from his assessment concerns Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler, the players Mourinho believes should be central to the team’s football.
Although they operate in different positions, the manager wants all four to take a step forward on the pitch.
He wants them to push their lines higher and move closer to the opposition penalty area, believing this would help Real Madrid both defensively and offensively.
Mourinho wants to pin opponents inside their own box
Mourinho wants Real Madrid’s play to go through Bellingham, Valverde, Bernardo and Guler, but he has also asked them to start creating attacks much closer to the opposition area and to link up more closely with the forwards.
The idea is to make the team more compact in possession and force opponents deeper into their own half.
If Real Madrid’s midfield can build play much higher up the pitch, opponents will have to retreat. That would allow Mourinho’s side to improve their pressing, make it more effective and increase the volume of attacks.
As a result, Real Madrid should create considerably more opportunities to score.
A compact Real Madrid for 90 minutes
Mourinho wants his team to stay together and remain compact throughout the full 90 minutes, rather than doing so only in short periods.
Defensively, this would reduce the spaces available for opponents to build their attacks and could force them to play more directly, looking to exploit the space behind the defensive line.
That is an area where the pace and defensive ability of Marc Cucurella and Denzel Dumfries, alongside Aurelien Tchouameni, can provide protection.
The same compactness could also benefit Real Madrid in attack by keeping opponents pinned back. Mourinho wants to use the quality of his players to create a greater number of dangerous situations.
Mourinho’s idea is that Real Madrid’s most talented players must push the team forward and help them put opponents under pressure much closer to the box.
