Real Madrid are currently going through a crisis, with very little going their way. They recently lost 4–2 to Benfica and were knocked out of the top eight in the Champions League table. As a result, Los Blancos will now have to compete in the playoffs to reach the knockouts, where they incidentally are set to face Benfica once again.
Real spent a good amount of money bringing in reinforcements at the beginning of the season. However, the results seem to have only gotten worse compared to the last campaign, in which the club notably went trophyless.
This is due to the fact that Real chose to ignore a key reason behind their poor showings. As most Real fans have already guessed, it is the club’s reluctance to address the void left in midfield after the departure of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
Fortunately, there is some good news on that front, as it seems the club have finally come to their senses and acknowledged what fans have already been telling the club management.
In fact, La SER have reported that the board have accepted that they failed to bring in replacements for the legendary midfield duo.
What is the way forward for Real Madrid from here?
Kroos decided to hang up his boots in 2024. While Modric is still active and wanted to continue at Real for another year, the club decided otherwise, with the player moving to AC Milan for free before the start of this season.
Meanwhile, Los Blancos fans could expect some midfielder signings to be made in the summer. Some of the notable names that have already been linked with the club are Adam Wharton, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, and Dominik Szoboszlai, among others.
That said, securing any of them would not be cheap, and Real have recently preferred to invest in young talents rather than going in big for proven superstars.
One way or another, Real will have to find a new setup of midfielders who can control the tempo and provide incisive passes when needed to cut through defences.
It’s true that Real already possess some world-class players in the middle of the park, but neither of them has been able to replicate the impact of Kroos and Modric, which is certainly not an easy task but still needs to be achieved.
Anyway, for now, Alvaro Arbeloa has to make do with whatever he has for the rest of the campaign. Real are set to face Rayo Vallecano next as they return to La Liga. Fans would expect the team to bounce back after their poor showing midweek and deliver a better performance.