Sevilla CB Jules Kounde
Real Madrid seem to be close to signing David Alaba on a contract expiry, but the 28-year-old defender is not a center back by trade. He played well there in the 2019-2020 season when it was necessary to move him to central defense, but Los Blancos may want to look for a young ascending option specific to the position.
Pau Torres, Dayot Upamecano, and Benoit Badiashile are a trio of young defenders who should interest Zinedine Zidane, but there is no better option than Jules Kounde. He is already one of the best center backs in the league, and you can argue that he’s already not too far behind Raphael Varane in terms of individual quality.
Sevilla would not part ways with Kounde easily, as he is their best overall player and is only 22 years old. There may not be a center back under the age of 23 with Kounde’s composure, tactical intelligence, and technical ability. He puts the rest to shame, and that sometimes includes his own competent center back partner in Seville, Diego Carlos.
Kounde is completing 90.5 percent of his passes this season in La Liga, per WhoScored.com, and he is almost never troubled defensively. You scarcely notice Kounde in matches, because he is always in such good position that he rarely has to make an intervention. Opponents don’t even want to test Kounde.
If there’s a chance Real can sign Kounde and if they realize they want another young center back besides Eder Militao, then he is the top target. Kounde is a special talent near the level of Matthijs de Ligt, who would be beyond unaffordable.