For Real Madrid, their biggest goal this summer was to reshape the squad with new signings, and in doing so, reshape it with departures as well. The club made it one of their goals to clear a lot of the dead weight in the squad, and with players like David Alaba, Dani Carvajal, and Dani Ceballos all departing, the club was working towards their goal of getting rid of all that dead weight.
However, Real failed to get rid of all the dead weight, which held up more signings, with one player in particular rejecting a number of offers to leave.
As being reported by MARCA via MadridXtra on X, Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio had offers from Chelsea and Liverpool this summer, however, he rejected the offers, as he is determined to stay at Real Madrid and fight for his place.
Asencio is one of the players Real Madrid needed to offload this summer to free up room to bring in a better defender, but were unable to, given his unwillingness to leave, and so far, by the looks of things, that could cost Real Madrid greatly this season.
Asencio's Premier League rejection threw off Real Madrid's whole window
The backline was one of the areas Real Madrid put the most emphasis on reinforcing this summer, and with Alaba and Carvajal departing, and Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konate, and Denzel Dumfries arriving, the club looked like they were making good on their promise to solidify the defense.
However, the backline is still shaky and looking like it needed one more signing, with Jose Mourinho requesting another central defender, however another departure was needed to open the space. With Antonio Rudiger recently signing a new extension, Dean Hujisen just arriving last summer, and Eder Militao still arguably the teams best defender when fit, that left Asencio as the odd man out and most likely to be sold, however, he refused.
The report goes on to state that even Jose Mourinho himself told the defender he should leave as he was not part of his plans, he still refused and ultimately cost Real Madrid the chance at another defensive signing.
For much of the summer, reports mentioned Inter Milan Alessandro Bastoni as Jose Mourinho's preferred center-back signing, and had he been brought in, Real Madrid could be in a very different situation when it comes to their form.
The team has already conceded seven goals through eight games and has looked all over the place at the back, lacking any real teamwork and cohesion. Bringing in another experienced, top-class defender like Bastoni would have no doubt solidified the backline; however, Asencio made sure that wasn't possible, and now, with Real Madrid's current situation, it will come back to haunt them.
As mentioned earlier, the backline still doesn't look rock solid and is still conceding goals for fun and has now been hit by injuries. Militao is still making his recovery and isn't ready quite yet, Konate left the France camp early with a muscle injury, and Huijsen is suspended for the next game after his red card in the Madrid derby.
That leaves Rudiger and Asencio as the only fit center-backs, whereas had a player like Bastoni been brought in, there wouldn't be much panic given the qualities he brings to a team, that Asencio, frankly, doesn't.
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