Ranking the top five left back options for Real Madrid in 2022/23

4. David Alaba

When I first saw the David Alaba to Real Madrid rumours last season, I didn’t really get an idea of what’s going to be his role. Only after the departure of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane son and the club’s decision to not sign any other defender, it became clear that David Alaba is going to be the club’s new centre-back. I really didn’t see him as a world-class centre-back, unlike his stature as a left-back. But boy, I have to admit that he has proved me wrong with his excellent performances this season, despite the rare positional mistakes.

I still see the attacking intent and tendency to occupy advanced positions on the left flank in Alaba, a player who was Bayern Munich’s starting left-back for many years. Despite his positional change, we often got to see the wing-play from Alaba, and he has played some games as Real Madrid’s left-back this season. He has also claimed a goal and four assists this season, which have come from the positions that are occupied by a left-back.

Given Alaba’s quality and experience as a left-back, any club would have David Alaba high up their pecking order for a left-back. But the reason why I have placed Alaba so low on this list is the fact that he has a different responsibility of playing as a centre-back for Real Madrid.

He can still play as Real Madrid’s left-back during an injury crisis, with Nacho covering for him in the middle, as they did against Athletic Bilbao last week. But if the club wants to see more of Alaba as a left-back, or as a player who can cover for Mendy when needed, there must be another quality centre-back in the team and just Nacho won’t suffice. There have been rumours of Real Madrid looking to sign a new centre-back in the near future, and if the club indeed wants to sign one, it would be better to sign a young left centre-back who can serve as Alaba’s backup.