Real Madrid are faced with a near impossible task this summer.
Sergio Ramos has left the club, taking his five LaLiga titles and four Champions League
wins with him.
Somehow, then, the club must replace a centre-back with a rare set of abilities, and an iconic
player who was and remains a symbol of modern Real Madrid.
It’s also a challenge they face when the club’s finances are anything but healthy
and when the wage bill is already stretched, meaning that they’ll almost certainly have
to make a compromise.
In his prime, Ramos was the perfect modern defender. He was the finest passing centre-half
of his generation and arguably the best ball-carrier from deep of that era too. He could be impulsive
and rash without the ball and his disciplinary record is something that Real won’t be looking
to replicate, but his game was built on anticipation, confidence and complete conviction in his
ability, and it would be difficult design a player who would more closely fit the idea
of what Real Madrid is.
A further complication is that new head-coach Carlo Ancelotti is inheriting an ageing team.
Luka Modric is in his mid-thirties and Toni Kroos is just a few years younger and yet
Real remain dependent upon their influence in midfield.
It means that Ramos’s successor will likely have to face a great deal of change in front
of him in the coming years and, in the short term, disruption alongside him. The club will
sell Raphael Varane this summer and have to depend on a brand-new centre-back partnership
next season, possibly including David Alaba, who has joined from Bayern Munich.
So, in the first instance, they’re looking for someone who mimics Sergio Ramos’s technical
abilities – a progressive centre-back with all the right distributional attributes – in
the second, we’re also after someone resilient, who has the capacity to adapt to change, cope
with flux and be a cornerstone player during a difficult period.
Character is extremely important, then, and especially so given the inevitable comparisons
with Ramos and everything he managed to achieve.
Low risk, big budget – Milan Skriniar, Inter Milan.
The most obvious place to look would be another club with financial issues: Inter Milan’s
nebulous ownership situation has weakened their negotiating position and has likely
lowered Milan Skriniar’s asking price.
Skriniar does not have the same personality as Sergio Ramos. He’s not as flamboyant
and he’s certainly not as entertaining on the pitch, but there are more similarities
than assumed.
Skriniar is an excellent passer across short and medium ranges and while he can look rugged
and more like an old-fashioned stopper, he’s actually more than competent at a carrying
the ball forwards, beyond a press and sometimes into the attacking zones against a deep-lying
opponent. So, while nobody would ever confuse him with Ramos, he does possess Ramos-like
qualities – including being a target from attacking set-pieces.
He’s also very physical. He’s only 187cm tall, but he’s a confrontational and tough
defender and while Ramos had that quality too, it’s something that the Real defence
has been lacking and will need – particularly in the Champions League.
Domestically, Real Madrid only conceded 28 goals in La Liga last season, only three fewer
than champions Atletico Madrid. Nevertheless, 13 of those goals were conceded either at
set-pieces or from the penalty spot, and that suggests a need not only a need for an organiser
– which Skriniar is – but also an improvement in the technical quality of the defending,
which he would also provide.
Big risk, big budget, high reward – Maxence Lacroix, Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg’s Maxence Lacroix rise has been sudden and surprising. He has adapted seamlessly
to life in the Bundesliga after arriving from Sochaux in 2020, despite having never played
top-flight football before.
His defensive contribution was very healthy and at 21, he already looks like one of the
best right-sided centre-backs in Germany.
In addition to which, his long passing was very effective and while his ball-carrying
isn’t smooth in the way that Ramos’ has always been, that’s only an aesthetic issue.
He has the touch and strength to combat and evade a high-press and – like Ramos - the
mobility and speed to cope with all but the very quickest centre-forwards.
He’s made one quantum leap in the game already, which suggests that he could make another.
This breakthrough season did see him paired with Bundesliga veteran John Brooks in central
defence, however, and that would have made the transition easier. David Alaba is new
to LaLiga, but he could theoretically provide similar support and ease Lacroix’s transition
in the same way. Lacroix would be a gamble. An expensive one,
too. But he’s of similar age to many of Real’s coming generation and could be part
of a nucleus which serves them well for years.
Short-term, low risk.
A more conservative option would be Toby Alderweireld.
At 32 his prime is behind him, but he’d be a capable placeholder until Real’s finances
improve and they return to a position from which they could make a major, more long-term
signing. In addition to which, with Spurs out of the Champions League and needing to
sell before they can buy, the fee is unlikely to be a problem.
There’s also an argument that Alderweireld’s has been unfairly damaged by Tottenham’s
decline. While he’s been surrounded by hapless performances on both sides, he remains a penetrative
long-range passer who can target the area behind an opposing defence or players in space
on either side.
In isolation, he’s also been more than competent. As the Europe Championship showed – he remains
very resilient in the air and rarely leave his feet. And, while his speed has declined
in recent years, pairing him with Alaba would offset that issue, creating a pairing that
wouldn’t be perfect, but would allow Real to remain competitive during a difficult period
for
low cost.