Real Madrid Transfers: 3 affordable CBs to keep an eye on this summer
Monaco CB Benoit Badiashile
Out of the three players on this list, Benoit Badiashile is the only one with concrete links to Real Madrid. Whereas I’ve only mentioned Maxence Lacroix once on this site as a possible transfer target, I’ve consistently discussed Badiashile as an affordable alternative to the likes of Jules Kounde and Dayot Upamecano (now headed to Bayern Munich) ever since rumors emerged of Zinedine Zidane’s possible interest.
Badiashile was solid last season for Monaco, and he’s been doing well in 2020-2021 under Niko Kovac, too. The 20-year-old center back has completed 87.4 percent of his passes this season, and he is probably the best ball-playing central defender of these three players.
Additionally, Badiashile has two goals and an assist, as he can be dangerous in the box on set pieces. Defensively, the French international is averaging 1.8 interceptions per game and has been dribbled past a mere 0.4 times in Ligue 1 this campaign.
If you ask me, Badiashile is still the ideal in terms of upside, current ability, cost, and well-rounded play. In many ways, he’s what Real Madrid are looking for at the position, though Monaco may resist selling him already due to his ability to fetch them more money if they can wait.
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Badiashile is not anywhere near a household name, but Madridistas should rate him highly. He is one of Ligue 1’s most interesting young players to track. In fact, no player under the age of 21 has logged more league minutes in Europe’s top five this season. He won’t be ready from Day 1, but with the minutes he’s getting, his development at Monaco is accelerating.