Real Madrid Transfers: Why Milan Skriniar should be on the CB target list

Real Madrid have had a pretty good start to the season, there’s no denying that. While there have been a couple of lacklustre performances, the team usually got the job done, as they’ve won five out of their six games in all competitions this season. They’re on top of La Liga at the moment, and things are looking good for Los Blancos.

However, as I said, their performances haven’t been perfect, and it has been pointed out in many articles on this site. The biggest concern that they’ve had is on the defensive side of things. Real Madrid have conceded seven goals in six games in all competitions, which doesn’t look terrible on paper. But when you really see the footage from the game, you’d realise that this number could’ve been a lot higher. Their xGA (expected goals allowed) is 9.0 for the season, and it’s less about Real Madrid defending well enough to only concede seven, and more about their opponents missing so many chances that were handed to them by Real.

This is why Real Madrid can do so much better with signing a great centre-back. As of now, the senior centre-backs in the squad are Eder Militao, David Alaba, Nacho Fernandez and Jesus Vallejo. I am still not convinced by these options, and even though Militao and Alaba have been good, the club simply needs at least one more talented centre-back so that they really compete on all fronts for the season without having to worry about the defense all that much.

Milan Skriniar would be a great fit at Real Madrid

Milan Skriniar is a 26-year-old centre-back that plays for Inter. He had a really good game against Real Madrid in the Champions League last time around, where he helped in isolating Vinicius Jr for the most part. He didn’t let him get close to the ball, and whenever Vinicius Jr managed to receive the ball, Skriniar made sure there wasn’t much the Brazilian could do with it.

But it’s not solely based on one game. Doing that would be unfair to everyone involved. The thing is, Skriniar has been performing at the top level for years now, and he just keeps improving season after season, and yet, no one really talks about him as an option for Real Madrid to consider next season.

Skriniar is the perfect centre-back, in my opinion. He’s very fast, great on the ball, he’s able to handle press from the attackers well, his passing is great (averaging a 92.2% completion rate in his career). He’s also very solid aerially (he has won 58.3% of his aerial duels in his career), and almost always makes the right decision. To put things in perspective, Milan Skriniar has only committed three mistakes that directly led to an opponent’s shot in his entire career, per FBRef.com. That’s an incredible stat.

We talk about the possibility of Real being interested in Jules Kounde or Pau Torres, players that go for a lot of money, but we’re ignoring a great player just because he’s a few years older. Skriniar hasn’t even entered his prime yet, it’s scary to think of how great he can be once he fully reaches his potential. Since Skriniar’s contract ends next year, Real Madrid still have a chance of signing him, but if the Slovakian decides to test free agency, Real would have a lot of competition to fight off for his signature. And if it comes down to that, then Real Madrid definitely should move for him.

They’ll have to make up their mind soon, though, and obviously, there’s not a guarantee that Skriniar would not re-sign with Inter. They’re on good terms, and the Slovakian likes it in Milan, and there are rumors flying around about the two parties negotiating an extension, but until everything is final, I won’t rule this signing out, since signing Skriniar would be an exceptional piece of business for Real Madrid in more ways than one.