Real Madrid: Zinedine Zidane has found another Ligue 1 CB prospect

Real Madrid will be closely monitoring the world’s best center back prospects over the next year.

Last summer, Real Madrid signed Eder Militao for 50 million euros from FC Porto, and the Brazilian center back has enjoyed a successful first La Liga campaign with Los Blancos. Militao had massive performances against teams like Getafe and Athletic Bilbao this year, and he looks like the best bet to replace Sergio Ramos one day.

But Los Blancos don’t like to rest on their laurels or stop evaluating top young players who can help them one day. Most of the time, they focus on attacking players, but they’ve also been linked to top young center backs like RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano.

According to a report from Carlos Forjanes of AS, Zinedine Zidane has his eyes on another excellent young center back in Benoit Badiashile Mukinayi of AS Monaco.

Just 19 years old, Badiashile has all the tools to become one of the best center backs in Europe. The French center back has excelled for the youth national team and is coming off a strong season in Ligue 1.

Per WhoScored.com, Badiashile completed 85 percent of his passes with nearly 60 passes per game in his 1,413 minutes across 16 Ligue 1 appearances. He had 1.1 tackles per game and won 3.5 aerial duels per game with his 6’3″ frame, showing incredible defensive anticipation and intelligence by averaging 1.7 interceptions per game.

Badiashile could be a perfect fit for Real Madrid. He can pass the ball, he wins challenges in the air, and he is brilliant at reading the game and making interventions. Those are all qualities the current center back pairing of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos have, in addition to promising backup Eder Militao.

Like Militao, Badiashile won’t come cheap. He is under contract until the 2023-2024 season, so Monaco have no reason to sell one of their most promising players. Per AS, the player is valued at around 40 million euros, as Monaco rejected an offer for under that amount out of the Premier League.

Real Madrid need to continue to monitor Badiashile in the coming year(s), and Madridistas would do well to familiarize themselves with the 19-year-old center back. He is already a strong starter in a top five league, which is rare for a teenage center back.