Real Madrid waved farewell to the legendary Luka Modric against Real Sociedad in the final game of the 2024/25 LaLiga season, as the Merengues are moving on from the box-to-box midfielder with the intent of replacing him and building towards a new future in midfield.
Already, it was made clear to Real Madrid that they still need to replace German icon Toni Kroos, who retired at the absolute top of his game in 2024 after winning the Champions League and LaLiga.
Without Kroos, Real Madrid suffered immensely in games in which they needed control, getting tossed around by the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Barcelona, and even AC Milan in big games this season.
Now, Real Madrid have to replace Kroos's control and the all-around brilliance of Modric, who, even in a more backup role in 2024/25, remained an important player to Los Blancos with six assists in just around 1,820 minutes.
Xabi Alonso's new priority target looks like a gem
Xabi Alonso has already found a new midfield priority target for Real Madrid after they bring back Nico Paz from Como, as his experience in the Bundesliga has identified the underrated Angelo Stiller of Stuttgart as the next potential midfield anchor in Madrid alongside Frenchman Aurelien Tchouameni.
Stiller is one of several gems at Stuttgart deserving of more widespread acclaim, as the former Bayern Munich academy player has broken out and become yet another player to leave the Bavarian giants with egg on their faces. Kroos, of course, did the same when he joined Madrid and became the world's best in his role, and, funnily enough, the German Sniper gave Stiller an endorsement for Real Madrid to sign him.
When you break down the numbers, the 24-year-old German international is almost like a combination of Modric and Kroos, which should seal Stiller as a top transfer target for Real Madrid this summer.
His ball progression is above Kroos, his forward pass percentile is similar to Modric, his key passes are close to Modric, and his progressive passes are between Modric and Kroos.
He posts similar passing and progression statistics to these two while having a significantly higher status in the defensive department, which is a massive area of weakness for Real Madrid.
Stiller looks like an affordable and highly-regarded defensive midfielder among those in the know in world football - Hansi Flick was even angling to sign him for Barcelona before Marc Casado and Marc Bernal had their breakouts.
Alonso and Real Madrid are definitely on the right track with Stiller as a young, up-and-coming, well-rounded, and undervalued midfielder who has the exact traits Real need to at least somewhat replace two absolute titans of the game.