New economic left-back option added to Real Madrid shortlist

Real Madrid hope to give new optimism to a tired looking side this summer, first of all with the appointment of Xabi Alonso, and then with the arrival of several signings before the tournament in the United States. One of the priority positions is the left-back position.

This season Ferland Mendy has returned to his fitness issues that plagued him in previous years, preventing him from reaching his best. Meanwhile Fran Garcia has improved on what was an underwhelming first year back at Real Madrid, but is still not trusted on the big occasions, as evidenced by David Alaba’s usage against Arsenal in the Champions League.

Alejandro Grimaldo added to shortlist

After being linked with Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz, Alejandro Grimaldo is the third player that Los Blancos have been linked with, as Xabi Alonso looks to bring in a trusted option. The former Barcelona man has declared he would like to return to Spanish football, albeit admitting that his dream was to turn out for Real Madrid’s rivals.

Cadena SER say that Grimaldo would ‘come running’ to Real Madrid after his soon to be former manager though. He would be available for a reasonable price, and Relevo note that Miguel Gutierrez is still very much an option for that reason. Los Blancos have a €9m buyback option on the Girona left-back this summer.

Left-back alternatives

Benfica left-back Alvaro Carreras and Ajax’s Jorrel Hato are amongst the options that are most appreciated by Real Madrid, but the cost rises dramatically in their cases. Other names that have been mentioned are Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez and AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez.

Real Madrid defensive plans

As well as a left-back, Los Blancos want to bring in a central defender and a right-back imminently, although the latter is more or less settled with Trent Alexander-Arnold coming in. Dean Huijsen is believed to be the preferred option in central defence.