Real Madrid are set to complete the signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold, and while his arrival is eagerly anticipated, it is bad news for one player: Lucas Vazquez.
Right-back is a position that Real Madrid have had problems in this season, with Dani Carvajal’s season-ending knee injury in October having left Lucas as the only natural option in the position. And he had several unconvincing performances in the weeks after he became a starter, and that created doubts in Carlo Ancelotti’s mind.
In recent weeks, Lucas has not been counted on by Ancelotti in big matches, with Federico Valverde having been used out of position instead. Despite this, Real Madrid still value the 33-year-old greatly, although that could be about to change.
Alexander-Arnold’s impending arrival means that Real Madrid will have him, Carvajal and Lucas as right-back options, which is a clear overbooking. And the favourite to depart is the latter, who is out of contract in the summer.
According to Relevo, there are serious doubts about whether Lucas will be offered a new contract by Real Madrid, with officials within the club seeing it as “complicated” due to the fact that he would be third choice behind Alexander-Arnold and Carvajal.
It was already known that Lucas’ future at Real Madrid depended on the arrival of Alexander-Arnold, and now that the Liverpool man is coming, it is likely to bring forward the veteran’s departure. He has been associated with the club for 18 years, but at things stand, that it set to end in the summer.
Real Madrid will speak to Lucas in May to discuss his future, at which point they will convey to him whether he will be offered a one-year contract extension. It looks unlikely at this stage, given that he would have no obvious space in next season’s squad.
