Real Madrid: No January transfers is the best possible policy

Real Madrid didn’t sign any players this summer, and they shouldn’t make any moves in the winter either.

While it is frustrating for some Madridistas to watch as Real Madrid do not make any modifications to a team that is clearly not good enough to meet the lofty standards that the club sets, the patience will pay off.

Next summer, Los Blancos have a list of major targets who won’t be easy to acquire. Especially in the current economic situation, Real must save every cent in order to afford Kylian Mbappe and Eduardo Camavinga, who are much better targets than anyone Real could conceivably sign before those stars become available. They are the absolute priorities, and there is honestly little room to argue against that statement. Throw in Erling Haaland in 2022 and various center back targets like Jules Kounde, and it is clear that Real’s best upgrades are worth waiting – and saving – for.

We have already read from MARCA’s Jose Felix Diaz that Real Madrid are not planning on making any major signings in the January transfer window. And that is consistent with Los Blancos’ usual winter policy.

Take the 2020 January transfer window as an example. Aside from signing a future star in Reinier Jesus for an affordable 30 million euros, Real did not make any significant moves. And by “moves”, I am also including sales. Despite Isco, Mariano Diaz, Brahim Diaz, Luka Jovic, Gareth Bale, and James Rodriguez all being linked with moves away from the Santiago Bernabeu, Los Blancos did not sell anybody.

Their decision paid off. While Bale and James remained on the periphery of the squad (and had no real winter suitors anyway), the other players had key roles to play. Mariano scored a great goal to seal the Clasico. Brahim scored in the Copa del Rey. Jovic had a winning backheel assist against Sevilla. And Isco was one of the gems of the second half of the season, leading the way with major performances in wins over Valencia in the Spanish Supercup, Barcelona, and Osasuna in Pamplona.

This summer, we have seen Mariano, Jovic, and Isco linked to transfer moves away from the club. They won’t be the only names mentioned in rumors either, and there will likely be actual suitors for that trio, including Milan for Jovic.

Yet Real Madrid should take the same approach as in 2020. Not only should they resist making any signings, which should be easy enough given the middling quality of players usually available in the winter windows, but they should also avoid making any sales or loans.

The reality is that if you aren’t signing anyone and can’t make any signings, you can’t plan for the departures or what might go wrong if you sell a player who becomes important later.

Let’s use Jovic as an example. He’s a very good player who averaged 0.42 goals per 90 and 0.21 assists per 90 last season. If the worst-case happens and Karim Benzema gets injured, Mariano becomes the only player available at striker, other than possibly converting Rodrygo Goes to the No. 9 position.

Does that sound like an ideal situation? Los Blancos want Jovic to get more playing time and could very well loan him in 2021-2022. But why do that now and risk hurting the team’s depth? It’s not a good idea. And I could use this exact same thought process to argue why it’s not a good idea to sell Isco.

Real Madrid are playing the long game with their squad. They know they won’t be competitive in the Champions League until they make serious signings like Mbappe and Camavinga. But even so, they are still competitive in La Liga. If they want to win the league again, then they need all hands on deck. No sale or loan is worth it at mid-season when you never know what can happen or who can come up with a vital play in the title race.