Real Madrid Transfers: 5 younger options at CB to sign instead of Antonio Rudiger

4. Matthijs de Ligt

An even younger option could be Juventus’s Matthijs de Ligt at 22 years of age, playing his football in one of the World’s most demanding clubs, Juventus. I was of the view that de Ligt possibly is the only worthy heir to Sergio Ramos. And, he’d be the best player to wear Real Madrid’s iconic number 4 shirt in the future. However, David Alaba proved me wrong and I’ve never been happier about being proven wrong.

However, de Ligt still stays a top target. He has been dropping good performances back to back for his club and country. While Juventus isn’t the top club it used to be from 2015 through 2018 but it still is one of the most famous footballing entities on the planet.

Especially because the club has been underperforming, the demands and pressure on its players have been presumably high. de Ligt’s game has still remained unchanged and that is an indication of his resistance to higher pressure, something that is a constant in the World’s most competitive club, Real Madrid.

He has all the required qualities that a modern-day ball-playing Center-back should possess. Once again, long balls are the main show. He is also a brilliant passer of the football and a very accurate one at that. His numbers for defensive interventions haven’t been too satisfying this season but that also has to do with Juventus’s overall play.

He does strike me as a good fit for this Real Madrid side. But, the only issue I can foresee is where de Ligt would sit on the pecking order given how well Eder Militao and David Alaba have paired up for Real Madrid. Real Madrid indeed, needs to invest in a quality backup. But, whether de Ligt agrees on a backup role at Madrid or not is still a big question mark.