Real Madrid are currently picking through the wreckage of a disappointing season with seven games to go in the La Liga campaign. Despite still being in the title race, the focus is on next season, and where they can correct things to put up more of a fight against Barcelona and in the Champions League.
The expectation is that Alvaro Arbeloa is moved on as manager, although there is still little clarity on who could replace him. Beyond that, Real Madrid are expected to be active in the transfer market, with a midfielder and a centre-back thought to be atop their priority list for the summer.
Last summer veteran midfielder Luka Modric was not offered a new deal by Real Madrid, and departed on a free to AC Milan. As per Fabrizio Romano on the Here We Go podcast, there are high-ranking people within the club who believe it was a mistake to allow Modric to leave. Not so much due to what he brings to their midfield, but due to the loss of his leadership in the dressing room. The loss of leaders over recent years is one of the issues that has been frequently cited as a cause of the malaise at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The information comes ahead of a similar decision on the future of fellow veteran Dani Carvajal. The 34-year-old right back is not playing frequently, and is out of contract this summer, having come off major injury issues over the past three years. The latest is that Real Madrid will allow Carvajal to make the call on whether he signs a new one-year extension.
Carvajal and Thibaut Courtois are two of the veterans that were key in Real Madrid’s historic European run of the 2010s. In recent years, the likes of Nacho Fernandez, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, Marcelo and even Joselu Mato have all left the club, along with Modric, removing significant amounts of experience from the dressing room. This is partly a consequence of Real Madrid focusing their recruitment policy on younger emerging talents.
