5 players Real Madrid should target during the summer
With Zinedine Zidane back at the helm, Real Madrid are set for a busy summer. Here are five players they should target.
After what can only be described as a disaster of a season, Real Madrid need to revamp their roster this summer.
The return of manager Zinedine Zidane means Real are serious about getting back to winning ways following the sacking of Julen Lopetegui earlier this season and caretaker coach Santiago Solari just this week.
The deep-pocketed club have the means to go on a spending spree during the upcoming summer transfer window and will need to bring in reinforcements in order to create a squad capable of competing on multiple fronts. Not only do they have the means, Los Blancos also have the prestige and are a club almost any player would want to play for.
Zidane’s contract runs through 2022, meaning he’s committed to the club he helped guide to three consecutive Champions League titles. There are certainly players who will leave Florentino Perez’s team come May, like striker Gareth Bale, and others Zidane will be looking to replace.
With those concerns in mind, here are five players Real Madrid should target this summer as crucial pieces needed to win again.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)
The Napoli defender has the quality to bring his game to the next level. One of the best defenders in Serie A the past few years, the Senegalese international has been Napoli’s star center-back since 2014.
Given Napoli haven’t won anything of note during his time there, Koulibaly may want to move to a club with a tradition of lifting trophies. He’s good with the ball at his feet and a danger in the air from set-pieces. With all due respect to Napoli, he has the talent to move up a level, and there’s no level higher than Real.
There are some sticking points. While no one doubts the defender would do well in Spain, the 27-year-old Koulibaly signed a new five-year contract with Napoli last year that featured no release clause. That means any club interested in his signature will have to negotiate directly with Aurelio de Laurentiis. The Napoli boss isn’t known for parting with players and has a history of asking exorbitant prices just to keep potential suitors away.
Then there’s Real’s current squad. Sergio Ramos’ time as Real’s undisputed lead should be, and probably is, coming to an end, but the club are unlikely to drop him immediately. His center-back partner is Raphael Varane, one of the few Real players right in the middle of his prime and also one of the best center-backs in the world.
On top of all that, the club signed 21-year-old Eder MiIitao, a highly-rated young central defender from Porto on Thursday. The expectation is presumably that he will eventually replace Ramos. Even so, if Real want a ready-made replacement to allow them to bring Militao through more slowly, Koulibaly would be a great fit.