Real Madrid: Why going all in for Mbappe is the right thing to do

With many clubs, the rumor mill always goes into high gear when the summer transfer window re-opens. With Real Madrid, it’s all year long and as fans, we have become accustomed to it. This summer feels different though as the COVID-19 Pandemic has left the club in a very unfamiliar position where money is not available in surplus like previous years, and they are forced to sell players.

Many of the rumors related to Real Madrid this summer have usually been about one of two things: Players leaving or Kylian Mbappe joining. Unsurprisingly, that has put many fans in a position where they begin to question the management and wonder if putting all your eggs in one basket makes sense. Well, yes, it does.

Do Real Madrid need to sign players in other positions immediately?

Real Madrid have already lost one crucial player this season and that’s the captain Sergio Ramos. The club has brought in a player in David Alaba who is seen as the replacement of our captain (and I use the term “replacement” quite loosely here because he will replace him in a positional sense, but no one in football can replace the personality that Ramos brought to the table).

However, David Alaba is not only a player who can directly replace Sergio Ramos in the center of defense, but he is someone who can play a wide range of positions which we have seen during his time at Bayern, and will definitely witness throughout the course of the season.

Now, the rumors head to Raphael Varane who is strongly linked with a move to Manchester United. This isn’t a case of Real Madrid wanting to sell Varane but more of a case of the player wanting a different challenge. While the club will try to keep him, they will sell him if he refuses to renew his contract. So now, Los Merengues lose Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane – two players who have become synonymous with the success of the club in recent years. Do they need to be replaced?

In addition to the signing of Alaba, Real Madrid already have three central defenders at the club. Nacho Fernandez, Eder Militao and Jesus Vallejo. Vallejo is the only player who hasn’t been able to prove himself from those three names, but he may get the opportunity to do so during this upcoming season.

Nacho and Militao have shown that they are more than ready to make their mark in the starting eleven and Alaba is a player who comes into the team more than prepared to do what is required.

It’s worth noting that other names may be leaving as well, whether on loan or permanently. Isco, Gareth Bale, Dani Ceballos, Luka Jovic and Mariano Diaz all have their positions in the team in doubt. Martin Odegaard has returned after his loan spell at Arsenal and is expected to stay at the club.

From all these players leaving, do they actually need to be replaced? If we are to be brutally honest, not really. On the wings, Real Madrid have Eden Hazard, Vinicius Junior, Marco Asensio, Lucas Vazquez and Rodrygo already. In midfield, Los Blancos are more than happy to move forward with Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Federico Valverde and Martin Odegaard. Antonio Blanco could also be an option for Carlo Ancelotti next season. In attack, Karim Benzema is there and has shown that he more than deserves every accolade that comes his way including the full trust of his manager. Now, this brings up the question of Kylian Mbappe.

Kylian Mbappe guarantees an immediate solution to Real Madrid’s woes

Mbappe could play up front, on the wings, behind the striker – pretty much anywhere in the attacking third. He doesn’t need time to develop, he doesn’t need to fix his skillset. He needs to play and once he does, he’s automatically a fix for a problem Real Madrid have faced for the past two seasons: goalscoring.

Last season, Real Madrid’s top scorer was Karim Benzema. All’s fine until you see that the second-highest goal scorer was Carlos Casemiro – a defensive midfielder. That’s unacceptable from any team and even more so when it’s Real Madrid. Mbappe fixes that with a plethora of goals and assists.

We can talk about transfers all we want, but Mbappe is the one the team needs when it comes to necessities. He automatically fixes our offensive problems and adds the ‘flair’ that Madridistas have been begging for during the past two seasons. Eden Hazard’s arrival was supposed to give us the flair in the attack that we were looking for but unfortunately, his injury problems since arriving at the club have left us begging for more.

Another worry that has been talked about with the French forward is his attitude as it seems as though his ego has been getting the best of him. We may have seen glimpses of that over the past season at Paris Saint-Germain and maybe even in the Euro 2020.

It’s worth noting that his arrival at the club will automatically make him realize that he arrives to learn and create something for the future. He arrives loved by all but will soon realize that he needs to perform to keep that love. How will he realize that? Through Karim Benzema.

Benzema is the embodiment of thriving, succeeding, and powering through the criticism at Real Madrid. He has gone from being the player that the fans wanted out of their club every summer, to being the best player at the club and the one adored by all Madridistas.

He will be there at the time of Mbappe’s arrival to help him through times where things will surely be difficult and help him thrive so that he can continue improving to become the best in the world. Benzema being at the club whenever Mbappe arrives will do wonders for the young attacker.

Real Madrid definitely need re-building in certain areas of the pitch but we all know that it’s impossible to do it all at once. During the next couple of seasons, we will see the team slowly reinforce areas of the pitch that need work. However, at the moment, we have reached a point where it’s practically “now or never” for Kylian Mbappe, as my colleague Hasan Karim mentioned in his article.

This saga has gone on for long enough and it really does seem like we are at a now or never point. If Real Madrid want Mbappe at the club, they will need to bring him in this summer, if he does not renew with PSG. If he wants to join, then he won’t sign a new contract at PSG and will need to do whatever he can to make a move happen.

The only risk with putting all our hopes on Mbappe is if he chooses not to join Real Madrid, but even then, it’s still worth the risk.