5 ways Real Madrid must use summer 2022 to prepare for the future

Fix the Right-Back Situation

Last summer, Real Madrid decided to let Alvaro Odriozola leave on loan to Fiorentina as they banked on Dani Carvajal with Lucas Vazquez has his backup. That was never going to work. As good as Carvajal can be, he’s extremely injury prone and it will only get worse with age. At 30-years-old and his injury issues, his backup was always going to get a substantial amount of minutes. Even though Vazquez impressed last season under Zinedine Zidane to a point where he received a new contract, things have gone a different way during this campaign.

This isn’t to say that Vazquez hasn’t come good, he has. He had some very strong moments so far this season but he isn’t a right-back and no matter how much you try to force it, it just isn’t meant to be. Odriozola is a right-back. Will he be returning in the summer once his loan ends? Certain reports seem to say so but nothing has truly been set in stone. Football is very unpredictable so anything can happen but then that brings up another question: Is Odriozola good enough to start regularly for Real Madrid?

Past performances at the club will make us lean towards answering that with a solid “no”. However, he has impressed in Italy and could be given an opportunity to truly show what he can do this time around. The reason this question exists is that he will be playing very often as the manager will want to rest Carvajal when possible. Mix that with the injuries, the right-back brought in will have time to play. How do you fix the right-back situation? The easiest way would be to sell Carvajal, keep Odriozola, and sign another promising right-back. Obviously, that’s easier said than done so it will be worth keeping an eye on this once the transfer window opens.