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News
- 13 hours ago
The FIVE players Real Madrid should sign to fix their BROKEN team
Analysis
Real Madrid have been dumped out of the Champions League in humiliating fashion.
Arsenal have knocked the defending champions out at the quarter-final stage, beating them 5-1 on aggregate in two devastatingly one-sided games.
READ MORE: Carlo Ancelotti to LEAVE Real Madrid following Arsenal defeat
It wasn't that Arsenal were some overwhelming offensive force in the tie, either. With the ball they were boilerplate stuff (with two world-class free-kicks thrown in, admittedly!) and while they were more solid defensively, their excellence was enabled by Real Madrid's awful display.
Current ETV
Kylian Mbappé
F (C)
Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappé
F (C)
Real Madrid
ETV Range
€135.9M - €166.1M
Los Blancos never turned up in North London and despite talking about a "Remontada" for the week leading up to the second-leg they offered precious little in the way of actual... anything.
At no point during the entire 90 minutes of the second-leg at the Santiago Bernabeu where Arsenal felt truly under the kosh, where the bright lights shone and Los Blancos turned it on... it was all just so dim.
And that's because, in 2024/25, Real Madrid are functionally a broken team.
Real Madrid: a broken team
They were somewhat broken last season, but had the brilliance of Toni Kroos to shephard them through these kind of big nights. Alongside Kroos was Jude Bellingham's unsustainably prolific form in front of goal and a few key squad players who made colossal contributions, e.g. Joselu and this allowed them to win an incredible continental double of La Liga and Champions League.
READ MORE: Out of contract in 2025: The best free agents available on a Bosman
This season none of that is present, and although Kylian Mbappe is a very good player, perhaps the most talented one in the world given Lionel Messi's physical decline, his presence has thus far been a net negative for Los Blancos even with all the goals he's scored.
Madrid are so stacked and talented that they're second in La Liga and in the Copa del Rey final. They may yet win both competitions (although the gap in La Liga is more down to Barcelona's inexplicably terrible December than anything Madrid are doing) but the big games have generally revealed Madrid's flaws this season.
Liverpool beat them, Milan beat them, Atletico Madrid were only denied a victory by a phantom "double touch" penalaty controversy, and they've lost twice to Arsenal (aggregate score of 5-1) and Barcelona (aggregate score of 9-2).
Who should Real Madrid sign to fix their team?
Real Madrid need to sign players to fix their broken team. But who? Well, FootballTransfers has found five (well, technically six) players who would help right the Real Madrid ship.
Well, firstly we are assuming that Trent Alexander-Arnold is going to join Los Blancos in the summer of a free transfer. Madrid have been courting him for years and most reputable sources have reported that a deal is close.
And that's huge, because not only is Trent a magnificent, world-class attacking talent but he's got such a unique tactical profile that his presence shapes how the rest of their transfers should go.
Dean Huijsen, centre-back
First thing's first, Madrid are not good enough defensively. As much as Thibaut Courtois is arguably the world's best goalkeeper, even he can't keep saving the team if he's exposed to so many clean looks at his goal.
While Antonio Rudiger is superb, Eder Militao clearly has knee ligaments that are prone to snapping and David Alaba looks a physical wreck of the player he once was. This leaves Madrid short on centre-backs that are of genuine top quality.
Current ETV
Dean Huijsen
D (C)
B'mouth
Dean Huijsen
D (C)
B'mouth
ETV Range
€50.7M - €62M
Enter Dean Huijsen. The tall defender is already a Spanish international and despite his Dutch name, he grew up in Spain and is a colossal fan of Sergio Ramos.
At 6'5, Huijsen is physically enormous and is well set to be an aerial colossus for years to come. He's also aggressive in the tackle and quite excellent at carrying the ball out from the back.
Bournemouth want about £50 million for him, so he's not cheap. And Premier League clubs are interested but surely the Sergio Ramos fanboy would choose the Bernabeu over Stamford Bridge?
Regardless, Huijsen suits Madrid down to the ground and given he's only 19 could provide over a decade of domination, Raphael Varane style. An absolute must.
Miguel Gutierrez, left-back
Ferland Mendy can't stay fit nor can he do much with the ball and while Fran Garcia is a bundle of energy he is short on defensive quality. Madrid need a starting left-back.
Miguel is actually from Madrid's academy La Fabrica, which is just as well because he'll only cost the club €8 million due to a buyback clause they put into his contract when they sold him.
Current ETV
Miguel Gutiérrez
D, M (L)
Girona
Miguel Gutiérrez
D, M (L)
Girona
ETV Range
€25.2M - €30.8M
Miguel Gutierrez is an attacking wing-back but is a decent defender. Miguel can both underlap and overlap his winger and his ball-playing would help Madrid dominate the midfield zone.
Ederson, defensive midfield
Real Madrid need to replace Toni Kroos. Especially his brilliant forward passes through the lines to the strikers. Normally you'd do that with a midfielder but Madrid appear to have done so with Trent Alexander-Arnold, their right-back.
This means that the midfield must be set-up to cover for Trent defensively when he raids forward. And that's where Ederson comes in.
Current ETV
Éderson
M (C)
Atalanta
Éderson
M (C)
Atalanta
ETV Range
€53.3M - €65.1M
A tackling machine, Ederson has been impressing for Atalanta for months now and has been linked to just about every other club on the continent. The Brazilian has the energy and inteligence to, along with Fede Valverde, dominate that midfield zone through sheer aggression.
Aurelien Tchouameni will probably be sold, as he looks lost without Kroos beside him. Ederson takes his place and is a much better fit for the rock n' roll Klopp-style football that Madrid are clearly gravitating towards; a tackling machine to unleash the creativity of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
READ MORE: Man Utd make OFFICIAL offer for WORLD CLASS Brazilian
Breel Embolo, striker
Real Madrid need a striker. Not necessarily a goalscorer, but an actual proper no. 9 to lead the line. In an ideal world they'd have both but the two best strikers of that type are Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane, and both of those dudes are probably beyond even Madrid's potent transfer claws (and they're both north of 30, too).
Kylian Mbappe has scored lots of goals for Madrid but there have been games where he is crying out for someone to play off instead of having to be the side's reference up-top. A new Giroud, if you will. And while it's too late for Madrid to get the actual Giroud...
Current ETV
Breel Embolo
F (C)
Monaco
Breel Embolo
F (C)
Monaco
ETV Range
€9.9M - €12M
Breel Embolo is the perfect striker for Real Madrid. Firstly he plays for Monaco, so won't cost the earth. Seconly he's 28 years-old, so is a proven veteran who won't need time to learn the role. Thirdly he's proven over many years with Switzerland that he can handle big occasions.
Embolo is a powerful and intelligent no. 9 who excels at linking play. He can go up-top and be the kind of reference point that Kylian Mbappe, Vini Jr. and yes even Jude Bellingham need. What's more is he actually works hard to press, which is something Madrid are crying out for.
He's also not a huge name, so won't be expensive and, nor will he kick up a fuss if he spends time on the bench against smaller or weaker sides where Madrid just want to overload on offensive firepower without needing to be tactical with it.
But against the biggest and the best sides Embolo's skill-set will prove crucial in allowing the likes of Mbappe and Vini to be their most prolific selves on the biggest of stages where, this season, they've not been able to bring that heat. He can score too, but he doesn't have to.
Vedat Muriqi, striker
But what if Embolo is injured? Last season Real Madrid ended up placing an inordinate amount of importance on Joselu because he was the club's only striker. Now, he delivered (look at who took down Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the Champions League) but what if he had been hurt?
Madrid cannot rely on Embolo alone, and so a move for La Liga veteran Vedat Muriqi would make a lot of sense. The Kosovan is a striker who knows La Liga and has proven capable of scoring in the division despite playing for tiny Mallorca.
Current ETV
Vedat Muriqi
F (C)
Mallorca
Vedat Muriqi
F (C)
Mallorca
ETV Range
€5.9M - €8M
In fact Muriqui has scored multiple goals against both Real Madrid and Barcelona. Bringing him in to be a cheap back-up makes sense. Plus he's enormous, so if Madrid do ever find themselves in a desperate situation where they revert to the "Cross and Inshallah" tactics from the Zinedine Zidane era, they will at least have a perfect target man to throw crosses at.
