Real Madrid could be in the market for a new right back in the summer 2022 transfer window. Although they have one of the best right backs in the world in Dani Carvajal, recurring injuries this year have made the Spanish international difficult to rely on. Given their backup option is a right winger in Lucas Vazquez, Madrid have been in need of another solution at the position. And that was the case coming into the season.
Carvajal has, once again, struggled to get on the pitch and look fit when he is available. Vazquez has been serviceable at right back, but the defensive issues will always be there when he is on the right-hand side. It just isn’t his best position.
As Madridistas ponder solutions available in the upcoming transfer windows, one young man stands out. And he comes from a club known for producing top young talent.
The 23-year-old right back Noussair Mazraoui will be a free agent at the end of the 2021-2022 season, and there is a very real chance he leaves Ajax at the end of the campaign. Mazraoui is drawing interest from notable clubs across Europe.
Noussair Mazraoui would be an incredible free agent pick-up
Perhaps Real Madrid would be seen as a step to high for a player linked to Europa League-level clubs, but Mazraoui is a very good young talent at a position where it is hard to find players of this caliber. Let alone with his upside. How many better players could Real conceivably sign at right back? On a free transfer? That just makes Mazraoui even more appealing.
Real Madrid do not need a sure-fire starter at the position either. They don’t even need an experienced backup, because, technically, Vazquez and Nacho Fernandez can fill the role of experience.
What they need is someone who can provide attacking firepower and who can develop into something more. They also need someone who knows the position defensively better than Vazquez. Mazraoui ticks these boxes.
Of course, Real do have an investment at right back who is turning his career around on loan at Fiorentina. Alvaro Odriozola is playing his best football since his Real Sociedad days. If that’s enough to convince the decision-makers at the Valdebebas, then Odri could make a triumphant return to the Santiago Bernabeu. But we have every reason to believe Los Blancos want a new solution. Mazraoui is younger and more exciting than Odriozola. And, again, he is free.
Mazraoui is having an excellent season so far
So far this season, the Morocco international has been sensational in the Dutch top flight with four goals and two assists. He also has an assist in the Champions League, where he is averaging 1.5 key passes per game, 1.8 dribbles per game, and 1.3 fouls drawn per game. Defensively, he is averaging at least two tackles per game both domestically and in European competition.
Mazraoui is putting up strong numbers across the board. It is not a stretch to say that for the 2021-2022 season, he is outplaying every possible right back associated with Real Madrid. That’s impressive for a 23-year-old. If he is available, I am not sure Los Blancos can turn down the opportunity to sign him for free.
Counting salary and importance of position, he may even be a bigger priority target for Real than Paul Pogba purely from a footballing perspective. From a marketing and fan pressure perspective, Pogba wins out. But Mazraoui should not be slept on, especially if Real want to get serious about affordably taking care of a growing problem on the right side of their formation.