Real Madrid signed young Dean Huijsen to beef up their defense last summer, and though Eder Militao suffered another big injury by tearing his hamstring in December, the club's best center back is returning from injury. Youngsters Joan Martinez and Jacobo Ramon are on the table for bigger roles in 2026/27, while veteran Antonio Rudiger is poised to stick around longer.
Even so, Real Madrid could still use another young star in the central defense. Rudiger's days are numbered, and extending him may be a mistake anyway. Huijsen has potential, but he alone isn't enough if Militao goes down injured again, which is a real possibility.
Real Madrid fans were most hopeful of another big signing from Borussia Dortmund in German international Nico Schlotterbeck, but he recently decided to extend with the Bundesliga club, taking him off the table for a summer move to Real Madrid - and then leaving Ibrahima Konate and Castello Lukeba as the main linked options besides Ramon over at Como.
Nico Schlotterbeck is still up for grabs
Interestingly enough, though, Real Madrid could still stand to gain from Schlotterbeck staying in Dortmund. According to a report from BILD, as relayed by DAZN journalist Andres Weiss, Schlotterbeck's new contract with BVB contains a 50-60 million euro release clause that actually takes effect as early as this summer.
So then why even extend Schlotty at all if he can leave this summer? Well, per BILD, the extension looks to be more of an anti Bayern Munich free transfer tactic, seeing as how the Bundesliga leaders were among the top suitors involved in the sweepstakes for the former Freiburg man.
This release clause is only active for a certain group of clubs. Reportedly, though, not only could Schlotterbeck's No. 1 dream club Real Madrid be one of these exclusive teams, but Bayern could also be one of the teams as well - and Schlotterbeck does want them, too, even if it might mean betraying Dortmund.
Obviously, Real Madrid and Dortmund have a much better relationship than Bayern and BVB. But maybe the release clause mandating a 50 million euro transfer that is even open to Bayern was preferable than losing another star to the Bavarians for nothing.
It is open season for both Bayern and Real Madrid - and maybe other big clubs as well - to sign Nico Schlotterbeck, but with a release clause and a new contract maybe making the negotiations more in Dortmund's hands, Real Madrid still have the leg up on everyone else to sign him. They still have a slight advantage with this extension, which really is not an extension at all.