Real Madrid: Breaking through the ‘Mbappe or nothing’ transfer rumors

At this point, it seems like PSG forward, Kylian Mbappe has forever been on Real Madrid’s transfer radar. The Frenchman has got the whole football community talking with his pin-point finishing. He arguably is the finest young player of this generation. He has found the net 45 times in all competitions for his club in the recently concluded 2020-21 season, per WhoScored, and can be a great fit in the current Blancos’ squad.

More recently, the rumor mills have gone crazy about a ‘Mbappe or nothing’ plan for the summer transfer window. The Frenchman indeed can be a great fit for Real Madrid and can bring us the goals to support fellow Frenchman, Karim Benzema who at the moment is carrying the goal-scoring duties single-handedly. However, in my opinion, getting Mbappe or absolutely nothing from the summer’s transfer window is a terrible plan.

As we argued earlier, Real Madrid will need an additional midfield player and a forward exclusively for the first team if the probable outgoings leave the club this summer. Squad depth isn’t something that can be compromised. Ergo, the pursuit of Kylian Mbappe exclusively can be a deadly trail to follow. The best to be done right now is prioritizing which parts of the squad need urgent attention other than the forwards’ department.

CDM and CB positions are running a risk of operating without back-ups

The first that comes to mind is the defensive midfield role, Carlos Casemiro operated for most of the season without any quality rotation. It was only towards the later stages that Antonio Blanco stepped up through La Fabrica.

Finding a defensive midfield player to support Casemiro for exclusive first-team use is something that would be on Carlo Ancelotti’s head. The prime candidate could be Eduardo Camavinga valued at 55 million euros by Transfermarkt and further subject to increase based on clubs interested. To say the least, it would not be the cheapest of investments.

The second area of interest is the defense. David Alaba joined the squad on a free transfer from the German giants, FC Bayern. He can play as a left-back and that would be of interest to Carlo Ancelotti. Especially, because Marcelo is on the list of probable outgoings. Both Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane are expected to leave and that cuts our list of center backs down to only Eder Militao and Nacho Fernandez and them operating without back-ups isn’t ideal. To say the least, another defender joining wouldn’t be a surprise.

That brings us to the main area of concern, the forwards. Yes, Kylian Mbappe is a brilliant option considering how awful the goal-scoring has been this past season. Karim Benzema aside no other Real Madrid player could reach double figures. Carlos Casemiro and Marco Asensio ended on the second spot with seven goals each.

Mbappe is valued at around 160 million euros by Transfermarkt and it wouldn’t be surprising if PSG looks to get somewhere in 180-200 million euros ballpark for the star striker. That is a crazy amount of money, combined with the wages Mbappe can be a very expensive player to have in the squad. Moreover, link with players like Jorge de Frutos only suggests that adding depth to the side is still on the table.

Players on loan can impact Mbappe’s move to Madrid

There is however one alternate point of view and that suggests that having Kylian Mbappe on the squad can be weighed higher than getting 2-3 depth signings. Here, however, there are certain things to consider. The first among them are the loanees returning this summer.

Don Carlo’s return to the Royal White club, can logically lead to Gareth Bale getting another chance. Bale is one of Carlo’s beloved BBC attacking trio. He already is an expensive player and if he gets going under Ancelotti, a lot of Real’s problem would be solved. The Welshman has another year in his contract with Real Madrid and he can very well play off his time.

The second player I would like to bring into the discussion is a talented young striker, Luka Jovic. He too will have a fresh start under the new boss. If things go right for him in the pre-season, he could be another player handy in bringing the goals in for Real Madrid. We have seen him scoring as many as 27 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2018-19 season and with good attention paid to him, we could see him doing similarly for Real Madrid too.

Ancelotti loves working with his attacking players and has already named a few players he thinks can do well in the coming season that includes Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale. Moreover, he has a history of doing well with his attacking players, the BBC, or the development of Angel Di Maria for instance. Luka Jovic could very well be the next player Ancelotti brings the best out of.

The squad indeed has options to work with, in case the Mbappe move fails. Ergo, giving priority to a smart set of depth signings would be my verdict for the upcoming transfer window. Mbappe’s contract with PSG is set to run out in the summer of 2022, pursuing him then would be a much more logical move under the current financial conditions. Real Madrid have enough quality ammunition for another season.

Signing him this summer at a huge transfer fee could mean gambling a season to injuries and fatigued campaigners. Real Madrid would, therefore, be better off with the current potentials in the squad. Getting players like Casemiro, Luka Modric, and Nacho Fernandez some quality rotation in my opinion would be a better plan for the summer. Real Madrid can always return to the Frenchman in 2022.

Additionally, what has surfaced regarding the ‘Mbappe or nothing’ transfer market stance could very well be nothing more than a rumor. Yes, Madridistas want the Frenchman playing in the White Kit but not at expense of compromising squad depth and its consequences. Lastly, Real Madrid entering into the transfer market to sign just one single player doesn’t make enough sense for me to subscribe to this strategy.