Real Madrid reportedly interested in a fullback who doesn’t truly fit them

Real Madrid will be in the market for some defensive help in the summer 2022 transfer window. Although Los Blancos do have eyes on Erling Haaland to go along with Kylian Mbappe, a Galactic front line is not Florentino Perez’s only concern. With interest in defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and considerations to the back four, Real are serious about making sure they have a defensive backbone to support the freedom of such an esteemed group of forwards.

Right back is the bigger priority of the two positions, given Dani Carvajal’s continued injury woes and the fact that his current top backup, Lucas Vazquez, is not actually a right back.

However, according to a recent report from Tomas Gonzalez-Martin of ABC Deportes, a left back to help Ferland Mendy is being considered. Angelino of RB Leipzig is one of the three options mentioned, along with Valencia’s Jose Gaya and the re-purchase of Tottenham‘s Sergio Reguilon.

Gaya and Reguilon are familiar names linked to Los Blancos, but Angelino is relatively new. He is also the most talented of the three, having integrated well with RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga after the Red Bull-owned club purchased the Spaniard from Manchester City on a permanent basis.

Angelino is too much of a defensive liability for Real Madrid

Though Angelino is talented and an intriguing name, it would be a shock if Real Madrid were to seriously pursue him. That’s because he is not a good fit for what Real need at the position.

Angelino is more of a wing back or winger than a true fullback. As we have seen at Leipzig, he is at his best in a heavy-attacking role as a wing back in a 3-5-2. Actually, you can think of him more as a wide midfielder and wide creator than a fullback.

Real Madrid like fullbacks that can push up the pitch and attack, and Marcelo built quite the legacy for himself at the Santiago Bernabeu as a left back who loved to get forward.

But Angelino is not on the level of Marcelo. He is quite good, but he is both worse offensively and even defensively than the Brazilian.

Take a look at the numbers in 2021-2022 thus far. The 25-year-old  has three assists in both the Champions League and Bundesliga with a whopping 1.9 key passes per game in league play. But he is also getting dribbled past more often than he provides tackles. In the Champions League, he averages 0.2 tackles per game and is dribbled past 0.6 times per game.

Miguel Gutierrez is better anyway

Angelino would be a major liability defensively. And when you combine his all-around play, he is not better than Mendy. More importantly, he is not better than Miguel Gutierrez.

Don’t let Miguel’s bouts with illness distract you from his talent. He has the potential to be special. Just 20 years old, Miguel has all the traits Real look for in a left back. He has the technical quality, passing skills, speed, and defensive work-rate. Miguel fits the club in ways that Angelino cannot.

There is also the matter of personality. Is Angelino the kind of character for the Madrid dressing room? We are talking about someone who has rubbed clubs the wrong way, such as when he tweeted an update about his injury publicly that tipped everyone else off. There were multiple incidents in which he had to be kept in check by Julian Nagelsmann, who is a very player-friendly manager. Angelino is 25, but he may not have the personality or maturity befitting of Madrid, whereas the likes of Miguel, Eduardo Camavinga, Vinicius Jr., and Fede Valverde show what is expected from the next generation of Madridistas.

For a fee of at least 30 million euros, given his importance to Leipzig as a creator and his great fit in the Bundesliga, he does not seem worth it for Real Madrid. Angelino is a very good player, but that does not translate into him being a wise signing for Los Blancos.