Real Madrid: The 5 most ideal long-term replacements for Sergio Ramos

Real Madrid CB Eder Militao

We begin with a current Real Madrid player, center back Eder Militao. The Brazilian defender joined Los Blancos last summer from FC Porto for 50 million euros. His first big test against PSG in September didn’t go as planned, but he quickly started to find his footing and was a positive starter in pretty much every game thereafter.

Militao had a couple of true standout performances down the stretch of the season. His decisive interventions against Inaki Williams against Athletic Bilbao were among the highlights of Real’s final games en route to a 34th La Liga title. And he was the one defender who truly showed up to play against Manchester City in August’s heartbreaking Champions League loss.

The biggest advantage Militao has is that he’s free. Real Madrid would have a tailor-made replacement for Ramos already in their squad. But the reality is Real need more center backs if they replace Ramos, so someone will get bought anyway.

Still, Militao has the composure, intelligence, strength in the air, and closing speed to replace Ramos. There isn’t a single player in the world who has Ramos’ skill-set, but, purely speaking defensively, Militao has some overlapping traits.

We need to sing his praises more for his 2019-2020 season. Militao is just 22 and has what it takes to be the long-term starting left center back for Los Merengues.