Carlo Ancelotti has disclosed that Real Madrid has no plans to sign a center-back during the January transfer window.
The club is currently grappling with a defensive injury crisis, with Eder Militao sidelined by an ACL injury since the first week of the season and David Alaba ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with a similar injury suffered in December.
Despite Ancelotti expressing a desire for a new center-back after Alaba’s injury, he has now stated, ahead of Madrid’s upcoming match against Mallorca, that there are no intentions to reinforce the defensive line.
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“At this moment, we aren’t considering signing another center-back,” Ancelotti confirmed. “We’re missing important players, but we have two we believe in, Nacho [Fernandez] and Antonio [Rudiger], and two others who can play there, [Aurelien] Tchouameni and [Dani] Carvajal. So right now, we aren’t considering a signing.”
Looking ahead to the summer transfer window, Ancelotti suggested a quiet period for Madrid, emphasizing a focus on renewing contracts for veteran players.
“First of all, there are players whose contracts are up, and they’ll decide what they want to do. I’m talking about [Toni] Kroos, Nacho, and Luka Modric,” Ancelotti explained. “The future is already written; there isn’t much to do. This team is already moving in the right direction, with very promising young players. We aren’t thinking about June yet, but there isn’t much to do.”
Modric has been the subject of extensive speculation about a potential move to Saudi Arabia as his contract approaches expiration in the summer, with his agent acknowledging the possibility of a transfer.