Real Madrid are looking to sign a left-back next season, and Benfica's Alvaro Carreras would love to return to the club this summer, according to Guillermo Rai of The Athletic.
According to Rai, via theMadridZone, Real Madrid are seriously looking to sign a left-back this season, and even though the reporter did not give a list of the targets Real Madrid have in mind, he did say that Carreras would like to join the club.
Carreras spent three years in Real Madrid's academy, before leaving the club to join Manchester United's in 2020. He spent a couple of years there, and then was loaned out to a host of clubs like Preston North End, Granada and Benfica. The latter signed him permanently, and since then, the player has been linked with a return to Manchester United as well.
United have a release clause in his contract to sign him back, and the club obviously needs to strengthen their left-back position.
However, so do Real Madrid. Their current left-backs have been really bad, to say the least, with Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia either missing time, form, or both. It has been a car-crash of a season, and if Real Madrid want to improve, they would need to start strengthening their defense more.
Alvaro Carreras would be a good addition to Real Madrid
Carreras is Spanish, which is also a good bonus to have if the club were to sign him. He has played in LaLiga before, and has even impressed against Lamine Yamal and Barcelona - who will be without one of their standouts for a few weeks - when Benfica faced the current LaLiga leaders earlier this season. The sample size was enough to say that even though Carreras can improve, he definitely has the quality.
He is also good going forward, with four goals and four assists this season. These numbers are not brilliant, but he is only 21 years old, and the numbers can definitely improve with a better cast of stars around him.
Carreras has a 50 million euro release clause, which could turn problematic for Real Madrid given how hell-bent they have been in not spending money on transfer fees since the Jude Bellingham signing two years ago.
They could definitely negotiate with Benfica, though, and whatever amount they might end up on would probably be more than the buy-back clause of 25 million pounds that United could go for.
Real Madrid need a left-back with good two-way ability. They can even bring back Miguel Gutierrez for as low as eight million euro, but his defensive solidity is not quite there yet.
Real Madrid should just sign a left-back, no matter who it is, as long as the player is talented and young. It is obviously difficult to have a great attack but a lacklustruous full-back situation, and Real Madrid need to change that soon.