Real Madrid has often experienced a right-back crisis in this season, due to Dani Carvajal’s frequent injuries. Carvajal’s fitness has been a huge problem for the club since the 2020/21 season, and the club should take a look at the right-back problem this summer. And according to a report from MARCA, Real Madrid are indeed worried about this issue and might take a deeper look into the problem in the summer.
Real Madrid had renewed the contracts of both their right-backs, Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez until 2025 and 2024 respectively, and loaned out Alvaro Odriozola, who’s another right-back. Lucas was about to become a free agent last summer as his contract was expiring, and the negotiations didn’t go well at the beginning. But Lucas’ terrific performances throughout the season made them change their mind and come to a truce with the Galician’s entourage.
Another reason behind Lucas’ extension was that the club saw the No. 17 as a useful backup for Carvajal, and expected him to be a valuable squad player due to his ability to play as a winger and a full-back.
But the club was prepared for an ideal situation and thought that Lucas would play only when Carvajal’s injured. They didn’t prepare himself for the situation where Carvajal would be frequently injured, and Lucas would get to play as much as him, if not more. And it has happened already, as Vazquez equaled Carvajal’s number of starts this season with his 14th start of this season against Elche on Sunday. In short, they never expected to see Lucas play so much.
With all due respect to Vazquez, his performances haven’t been up to the mark this season, and Real Madrid can’t afford to continue with these issues next season. The right-back position is as important as any other position in the playing XI, and the club can’t give a blind eye to the current issues.
What is the solution to Real Madrid’s right back issue?
Luckily, the report suggests that the club is trying to take care of one of their biggest issues, and hopefully, they will come up with a solution. Two possible solutions are taking a gamble with Alvaro Odriozola, or Castilla right-back Sergio Santos, who’s a talented player. But there is a high probability of these options not working out, and the club should take the best option.
The best option is to take a look at the right-backs available in the transfer market. Of course, we don’t get to see heavily hyped full-backs these days, but the club should just get their best scouting team on the job and search for a long-term player, who can take over the right-back spot after Carvajal.
Recently the club has been linked to right-backs like Pedro Porro and Noussair Mazraoui. It will be interesting to see what will be the club’s method of handling this issue this summer and if they can sign a right-back who’s ready for Real Madrid.