Real Madrid keen on bringing in another forward this summer

Real Madrid look as if the majority of their business is done this summer, but that does not mean to say there are not players that those within the club believe are missing from the squad. After Alvaro Carreras was presented this week, the arrival of Franco Mastantuono will take their total spend to €183m this summer.

The ongoing debate at Valdebebas is whether Los Blancos should bring in another central midfielder this summer, with manager Xabi Alonso convinced that this is the case. Another potential option is a new central defender, with Antonio Rudiger, Raul Asencio, Eder Militao and David Alaba far from inspiring confidence currently. Yet there is another position that Real Madrid internally feel they are lacking one more player in the forward line too.

The missing Real Madrid option up front

Alonso has a plethora of options up front, with Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo Goes, Endrick Felipe and Gonzalo Garcia Torres all options in the final third. Arda Guler, Mastantuono and Brahim Diaz can also operate in a front three too. ESPN explain that Real Madrid’s scouting team believe that they could do with another type of forward though – a winger that stretches the pitch and stays close to the touchline. They feel it would also suit Alonso’s style of play, and it is worth mentioning that Head Scout Juni Calafat is one of the four people with the loudest voices in Real Madrid’s recruitment decision-making.

Current options out wide for Xabi Alonso

Most of the options above tend to drift inside, if not operating directly there anyway. For some time it has been the full-backs that have provided width for Los Blancos. Dani Carvajal gets forward well, while the arrival of Carreras provides an offensive weapon for the left that can hug the touchline too. Fran Garcia showed some ability to do so during the Club World Cup too, but can struggle in tight spaces. There is no doubt that beyond those options, natural width is not something the squad is blessed with.