Analysis: Who should Real Madrid reserve their final squad spot for? | OneFootball

Real Madrid kicked off their campaign on Tuesday night, with a less than thrilling 1-0 win over Osasuna. Arguably the most exciting part of the match was the introduction of Franco Mastantuono, who made an impact in his first appearance.

After a dismal season that saw them fail to win any silverware apart from the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup, Los Blancos have retooled their squad and gotten whole a lot younger. Carlo Ancelotti’s (66) second spell at the club would come to an end after four years, with Xabi Alonso (43) replacing his former manager at Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. They’ve refurbished their backline with the signings of Dean Huijsen who joined from Bournemouth for €60m, whilst they also paid €10m to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool in order for him to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup, having previously agreed to sign him on a free transfer, and signed Spanish left back Alvaro Carreras from Benfica for €50m.

Their youngest recruit, meanwhile, only just turned 18 years old: Franco Mastantuono. Los Blancos paid €45m to sign the Argentine wonderkid from River Plate to a six-year contract, who was assigned the number 30 shirt, just as he had worn at River. Whilst he was immediately registered with Real Madrid Castilla in order to free up a spot in the first team for a potential late move, the young attacker is already training with and to all intents and purposes, part of the senior team.

Real Madrid have put themselves in a position to go out and make a late summer transfer, but with a little over a week left in the window, time is running out for them to do so. It begs the question – who should Real Madrid be considering for a potential deadline-day arrival?

After putting in motion a rebuild in every single defensive position apart from goalkeeper, with Alexander-Arnold (26) replacing Lucas Vazquez (34) at right-back, and Huijsen (20) replacing Jesus Vallejo (28) in central defence. It seemed that Carreras (22) would be taking the spot of Ferland Mendy (30) at left back, but so far, the Frenchman looks set to remain in Madrid, where he has a contract until 2028. However, there’s reason to believe that they could be due for another upgrade at centre-back.

Both Eder Militão (27) and David Alaba (33) have spent more time on the treatment table than on the pitch over the past few seasons, whilst Antonio Rudiger is starting to look his 32 years of age with a number of high-profile errors in recent matches. Whilst Alaba and Rudiger are expected to leave upon the expiry of their contracts in 2026, Real Madrid are reportedly targeting the arrival of Liverpool centre back Ibrahima Konate, who is entering the final months of his deal. It’s likely that Real will wait it out and attempt yet another high-profile transfer after Kylian Mbappe, but a shaky start to the season or an early injury crisis could tempt their hand and see them table a late offer for Konate.

Image via Europa Press

There’s a good chance, however, that an unexpected signing will come in midfield rather than defence. Los Blancos find themselves short-handed following the departure of legendary midfielder Luka Modric as well as the absence of Jude Bellingham, who will be out until October after undergoing shoulder surgery. Eduardo Camavinga, who missed 33 matches in 2024/25 due to injury, is recovering from an ankle sprain, meaning that Alonso’s sole options in midfield for the opening games are Mastantuono, Arda Guler, Dani Ceballos, Brahim Diaz and Aurelien Tchouameni.

It certainly is a strong basis for an argument that Los Blancos should invest in the middle of the pitch again, seeing how much it struggled last season without Kroos, and with Modric on the wane. Alonso is also in favour of the arrival of a midfielder if reports are to be believed, but Los Blancos have already moved for Mastantuono, Carreras and Huijsen, players Alonso was keen for the club to bring in.