Real Madrid News
Real Madrid to hand a start to academy graduate or out-of-favour star vs Mallorca
Real Madrid’s defeat to Barcelona at Montjuic last night all but closed any chance the Merengues had remaining in the league title race.
The game, after all, was virtually a six-pointer and took Barcelona to the cusp of the title after Real Madrid could not salvage anything from the fixture.
The Catalans now need just two points in three games to secure the league title and snatch it from Real Madrid and can do so against Espanyol midweek.
Los Blancos, meanwhile, can only play against Mallorca and win, hoping that the Catalans lose their game.
Deeper in water
As relayed by AS(h/t Madrid Zone) in a recent report, either Jacobo Ramon or Jesus Vallejo will start alongside Raul Asencio in the team’s game against Mallorca for they simply have no options remaining.
After all, one of the key factors behind Los Blancos’ defeat last night was Real Madrid’s poor defensive depth which forced them to deploy Aurelien Tchouameni and Asencio as their starting centre-backs on the night.
David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao were all unavailable through injury.
Heading into the game against Mallorca, however, matters only get worse for the men in white as Aurelien Tchouameni’s yellow card in El Clasico implies that he is suspended on the night.
The former made his debut in La Liga in Real Madrid’s win over Celta Vigo but was simply all over the place and looked completely out of his depth.
Vallejo, meanwhile, has not had the manager’s trust all season and has only played ten league minutes in the entire campaign.
It is far from ideal that Real Madrid head into a tricky game against Jagoba Arrasate’s side later this week with such poor depth in defence.
Given that a defeat will all but crown Barcelona champions, a lot rides on the performance of whoever steps into Tchouameni’s shoes.
Real Madrid opted to renew Antonio Rudiger’s contract this past summer to keep him at the club for one more season.
The 33-year-old veteran defender, though, has not been performing at his best, with physical problems taking their toll and age starting to catch up with him.
As such, the expectation is that Los Blancos will not extend his contract again when his current one expires on 30 June 2027.
Tottenham eye Antonio Rudiger
And, according to reports relayed by AS, Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a free-transfer swoop to sign Rudiger in the summer of next year.
The north London club are understood to be keen on reinforcing their backline next year and see the German defender as an option, given his experience in the Premier League and the fact that he would be available for free in the summer.
So far this season, Rudiger has played only five games for Real Madrid, amounting to a total of 396 minutes.
The 33-year-old has even chipped in with two goals, including the all-important winner in the 4-3 comeback victory over AS Roma on Wednesday night.
Time to move on?
Despite Rudiger being a hugely respected figure in the Real Madrid locker room, he is currently the third-choice centre-back for Jose Mourinho.
After all, summer signing Ibrahima Konate and Dean Huijsen have been preferred by the manager so far in the new season.
Moreover, with Eder Militao set to return imminently after a lengthy injury layoff, Rudiger’s game-time could be impacted further.
Given the situation and factoring in Real Madrid’s plans to sign another centre-back next summer, it is pretty much evident that Rudiger does not feature in the club’s plans for beyond this season.
As such, a separation of ways seems pretty likely when his contract expires, and Tottenham are now positioning themselves as early suitors to sign Rudiger as a free agent in 2027.
