There will be signings, there will be departures, but the old guard isn’t going anywhere
It’s almost certain that Real Madrid is going to make some big signings in the near future. Be it Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe or even Cristiano Ronaldo, a marquee signing is coming in this summer. And there will be departures as well, especially in the case of fringe players who have been disappointing and out of favour with Zidane, like Odriozola and Mariano. But the old guard of Real Madrid isn’t going anywhere.
From the old guard of Real Madrid which won Real Madrid a lot of titles between 2015 and 2018, Raphael Varane, Dani Carvajal and Casemiro are in their prime right now, and they won’t be going anywhere. Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Karim Benzema are in their thirties, but through their performances, they have shown that they deserve this spot. Lucas Vazquez has been very impressive and he’s an unquestionable starter for Real Madrid this season, but he’s about to leave as his contract expires in the summer of 2021. But there are few players whose performance has been highly questionable.
The club legend Marcelo, Isco, and Marco Asensio are among those names from the old guard who has been very disappointing this season. Marcelo had many physical issues this season, but he has a contract till 2022 and he would rather give it a shot in another season. He has been working hard on his fitness, and he has tried to make an impact whenever he got a chance, despite not having any support from his body. He might thrive as a wingback in Zidane’s new 3-4-3 system, so it is to be seen how Marcelo does, before commenting on his future.
But Isco and Marco Asensio, despite having age on their side, have been highly disappointing. There have been rumours of Isco leaving Real Madrid at the end of this season, but Zidane has always tried to redeem the Spaniard. Recently there have been rumours of a patch-up between Isco and Zidane, but Isco’s performances don’t prove that he deserves to stay, while loanees like Martin Ødegaard and Brahim Diaz have been doing well and are waiting for their chances.
In Asensio’s case, Zidane still seems to trust him (though he gave him zero minutes against Elche), and it wouldn’t be surprising if he continues. He did score a goal against Atalanta yesterday, but that doesn’t change the fact that Asensio has been highly disappointing this season.
A revolution at a team happens when youth are integrated into the team by replacing low-performing seniors. But in Zidane’s tenure, there haven’t been any signs of a revolution so far, except for the left-back position where Ferland Mendy has successfully replaced Marcelo. Maybe Zidane trusts his old guard too much that better-performing youngsters haven’t been given many chances under him, except for Fede Valverde.
There might be many high-cost signings in the near future, but they need to be made with a proper sporting vision, to avoid an Eder Militao situation where a decent player hasn’t been given minutes to better-performing seniors. And in all honesty, there would be progress only when the team gets rid of disappointing players to free up spots, and there’s a need to take some harsh calls. But looking at Zinedine Zidane, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is no change in the core of the team, despite making some big-name signings as we made in 2019.