Real Madrid lost three of their defenders, one after the other, on Tuesday. It started with Antonio Rudiger's surgery news, which leaves Real Madrid with not a lot to work with.
Soon after that, David Alaba got injured and had to receive surgery - which he did on Wednesday morning. Same with Ferland Mendy, who also got operated on.
That does not leave Real Madrid with a lot of high quality defenders. It is quite the opposite actually, and with a final Clasico of the season looming, it simply does not look good for the club.
Real Madrid now, officially, only have four defenders in the squad, and three of them should technically not even be close to the starting XI.
Fran Garcia, Jesus Vallejo, Lucas Vazquez and Raul Asencio are the only squad options available. Out of those four, only Asencio makes the Real Madrid lineup if everyone is fit. This leaves Real Madrid in a really bad situation, because they technically still believe that the league race is still on - at least it is mathematically - and they simply cannot compete with these four players in the lineup.
Aurelien Tchouameni will probably become Real Madrid's central defender for the rest of the season
Real Madrid will have to put Tchouameni in central defense because they do not trust anyone else. Things that make it difficult are that Tchouameni has been exceptional as the pivot in the last few weeks - and in 2025 in general - but now he has to return to a position he does not really love.
Carlo Ancelotti - whose future is in turmoil too - will simply not give the youngsters a chance. There is no way he starts Jacobo Ramon, Lorenzo Aguado or Jesus Fortea in every single game, which means Tchouameni is back in defense. That also means Fede Valverde is back in midfield, because there will not be anyone else in midfield if he starts at right-back.
I think that the club should just give the youngsters a fair few chances because let's be honest, Real Madrid are not winning the league anyway.
It is just a terrible situation and one that could have been avoided if Real Madrid were smart with their signings last year. They could have signed a defender in the summer, and they could have done in January as well, but they kept choosing not to, and now, they are left with Vallejo, who has not played at all this season.
This just makes it imperative for Real Madrid to sign a defender in the summer transfer window. If they don't, they are simply not serious enough.