According to David Ornstein, Guehi, who initially wanted to join Real Madrid, couldn’t wait for Lille and Real Madrid to reach an agreement and ultimately chose to switch to Manchester United. After missing out on this 18-year-old centre-back, Real Madrid’s first team is still relatively short-staffed with only four players in the centre-back position, making it difficult to cope with the demands of multiple fronts in the new season.
Currently, Real Madrid has only four dedicated centre-backs in their squad: Rudiger, Militao, Vallejo, and Alaba. Among them, Alaba, due to injury, is confirmed to miss the early matches of the new season, with reports suggesting he will aim to return in October this year. Vallejo was once close to leaving this summer, but both he and Real Madrid hope to fulfill the final year of his contract.
The new season will see Real Madrid face a grueling schedule, including not only regular events such as La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey, but they will also participate in the inaugural expanded Club World Cup featuring 32 teams next summer. If no reinforcements are made at the centre-back position this summer, Ancelotti may again be faced with the awkward situation of having to field other players as makeshift centre-backs constantly.
