Real Madrid News
Real Madrid looking at 21-year-old Spanish ace to reinforce left-back position next summer
Real Madrid lost two left-backs this past summer as they let go of Miguel Gutierrez and Marcelo, but did not sign any replacement.
Instead, manager Carlo Ancelotti decided to go with Ferland Mendy as his first-choice option while relying on Nacho, David Alaba and even Antonio Rudiger as backup.
However, it seems like Los Blancos will alter those plans come next summer and are already looking at possible options to reinforce the left-back position in 2023.
A move for former defender Fran Garcia, who could have arrived in the last window as well, is once again being talked about.
Along with the Rayo Vallecano ace, Real Madrid are also looking at Miguel Gutierrez as another possible option to strengthen the left-back slot, reports Sergio Santos.
The 21-year-old La Fabrica ace was allowed to join Girona FC in the summer and the report states that they have been left impressed by the performances of the former academy prospect. In 13 matches so far for his new club, the Spanish left-back has registered three assists.
Gutierrez had struggled to find favour under Ancelotti last season as the Italian reportedly had doubts over the defensive aspects of the youngster’s game.
Despite that being the case, the 21-year-old is now on the agenda of the club to add depth and competition at left-back before the start of the 2023/24 season.
Gutierrez left the Santiago Bernabeu after making just ten senior appearances in which he set up two goals. Whether he ends up securing a swift return to his boyhood club next summer or if Real Madrid decide to re-sign Fran Garcia instead will be interesting to see.
In what could be a real deal breaker for Real Madrid ahead of their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg clash against Barcelona, it has been revealed that as many as three Barça will be absent from the game while another key player remains a major doubt.
The list includes the likes of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen. The trio is certain to miss the game through respective injuries while a certain Frenkie de Jong is more or less ruled out, as per Javi Miguel.
It must be remembered that Barcelona are heading into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage. But the absence of the aforementioned players means Madrid can work on exploiting the frailties.
Despite the absence of such big names, Barcelona did pretty well against Elche in their previous outing, coming out 4-0 victorious, with the goals coming from Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
With options lacking in midfield, Xavi decided to use the likes of Sergi Roberto and Eric Garcia along with Gavi in the heart of the lineup. In any way, they do have Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie as backups if needed.
The defence, on the other hand, was perfectly guarded by Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde.
One can expect Xavi to once again interchange Araujo with Kounde on the right since the Uruguayan has been rather successful in minimizing the threat of Vinicius Jr.
As far as Madrid are concerned, they are sweating over the fitness of three key defenders, namely, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy. Between these three, the Frenchman is out for about a month while Rudiger and Nacho are expected to be back before the Clasico.
If there are no casualties against Real Valladolid, Madrid will have a perfect midfield and attack, with only Mariano Diaz missing.
