Real Madrid have Ferland Mendy at left back and Dani Carvajal at right back. Together, they are a fantastic pairing on the outside. Behind Mendy, Real have Marcelo, though he seems to be better-suited to a creative midfield or attacking role in light of his defensive decline. And behind Carvajal, Los Blancos will be in need of answers with Alvaro Odriozola almost certainly on the way out and Lucas Vazquez on an expiring contract.
Buying back Jorge de Frutos is a possible answer on the right-hand side to replace Vazquez as the backup behind Carvajal. And on the left, Real Madrid could give the call-up to Miguel Gutierrez.
But in case Los Blancos want to go outside the White House, here are three affordable fullbacks to target on the summer 2021 transfer market.
Palmeiras LB Matias Vina
We begin with Palmeiras fullback Matias Vina, who was linked to Real Madrid shortly after being named the best player at the position in the Copa Libertadores. Vina had two goals and three assists in the tournament with 2.5 tackles per game, according to Football Wonderkids.
The 23-year-old Uruguayan could cost fewer than 20 million euros, which would make him a cheap secondary option to Mendy. Vina would offer more in the attack than the French international, who showed up well in February but has largely disappointed with his ability to create chances. And in general, Real want their fullbacks to help out a lot with chance-creation, since it enables the wingers to focus more on scoring. That will become a bigger need in the future when Real do sign a capable scorer on the left wing.
Vina is not a necessary signing by any means, but he is a very talented young player whom Madridistas should monitor.
Wolfsburg RB Kevin Mbabu
Kevin Mbabu is a player I’ve highlighted before, because I consider him one of the most underrated right backs in European football. The Switzerland international was sensational in 2019-2020 as a breakout star for Wolfsburg, and in 2020-2021, he has been part of one of the continent’s best defenses. And that’s enabled Wolfsburg to sit pretty at third in the Bundesliga, on the cusp of the Champions League after narrowly missing out on this season’s Europa League.
Entering the prime of his career at 25 was incredible last season with four goal contributions, 2.5 dribbles completed per game, and 3.5 tackles per game, according to WhoScored.com. Those are incredible numbers.
Mbabu has only been able to play 1,094 Bundesliga minutes to this point in the season after recovering from a knee injury, but he’s settling in nicely, even completing nearly two dribbles per game for Wolfsburg.
He’ll continue to improve and get back to the incredible form he reached last season, where he was one of the Bundesliga’s best right backs. Mbabu’s valuation from Transfermarkt is just nine million euros, and while Wolfsburg are probably not interested in selling a player of his caliber with the Champions League likely on the horizon, Mbabu is worth monitoring. At the very least, Madridistas should know the Swiss defender for more than just the time he came up empty on a slide tackle against Cristiano Ronaldo in a Nations League match.
Stuttgart LB Borna Sosa
Borna Sosa is the most attacking player on this list, since Stuttgart utilize wing backs. But what’s interesting about Real Madrid is they’ve used a back three with wing backs a couple of times this season, slotting Ferland Mendy as the left-sided center back – to great effect, I might add – in a 2-0 win over Getafe.
The Croatian international has been a huge reason for Stuttgart’s success in their return to the Bundesliga. A wisely-rebuilt squad with players like Silas Wamangituka and Sosa at the heart of it, Stuttgart are currently in the top half of the table and ahead of former Real Madrid opponent Borussia Monchengladbach on goal differential.
Sosa has eight assists this season for the Baden-Wurttemberg side, and he averages two key passes per game and one dribble completed per game. The 23-year-old has chipped in 1.2 interceptions per game and is dribbled past 0.6 times per match. That’s not Mendy territory, but it’s decent for a player who spends so much of his focus on attacking.
While Sosa should be a coveted player on the transfer market by anyone in need of attacking juice at the fullback position, Real Madrid should monitor him. They won’t have much money to sign a backup left back, but Sosa may still be undervalued. Transfermarkt only has him at six million euros, so Los Blancos should watch him ahead of more expensive left back options.