Real Madrid want a defender, Manchester United want a striker. Who is on the radar of both clubs?

Christmas is over and we football fans all over Europe are already counting down the days until the start of all the top European leagues, excluding the Spanish and English ones. However, some of the top teams like Real Madrid and Manchester United have to deal with injuries to their key players first.

The winter transfer period starts on January 1st 2024. Clubs have a unique chance to fine-tune their squads for the final spring part of the season. The downside of buying players in the middle is the high price tag. Who would let go of their mainstay in the middle of a roster.

Real Madrid

This year’s crisis situation has already reached the giant from the Spanish capital. The White Ballet are plagued by injuries. The current Real Madrid squad consists of: Arda Güler, Vinicius Jr, Eduardo Camavinga, David Alaba, Edér Militao, Thibaut Courtois. According to the club’s website, at least Güler, Vinicius and probably Camavinga should be ready for the next match against Mallorca.

Madrid cannot count on the remaining defensive shields for a long time. All three have torn anterior cruciate ligaments in their knees. For Alaba, the season is over for good. Militao is rehabilitating well. His possible return to the field is predicted for the end of February. Courtois theoretically at the end of March. Maybe even April.

Carlo Ancelotti has only two of his four key defenders available, which is a big risk for him. Especially when the other stopper is Nacho, who got a red card in the last game against Alavés. So the current stopper is just Antonio Ruddiger. Real Madrid had to start acting. Whoever is interested in this royal big club knows well that he is not used to buying during the winter. Most of the time, the squad is strengthened in the summer and nothing further within the team is touched. The last big winter purchase was Brahim Díaz from Manchester City in 2019.

Does Real Madrid need an experienced defender for a while, or will the big club find a young replacement with the potential to replace the current players? Who is being talked about? The young Portuguese! Twenty-two year old Gonzalo Inacio is from Sporting Lisbon (his price on the football market is reportedly forty million euros) and António Silva, on the other hand, is the hope of the Portuguese national team from Benfica Lisbon, who is only twenty years old and is worth forty-five million euros on the football market.

There is a high probability that one of the Portuguese players will head to the Santiago Bernabéu. We can expect a similar price in the final. That is, one of the Portuguese national team would move to Real Madrid for fifty million euros.

Still remaining in the Madrid club’s sights is Leny Yoro, a rising star in the French league. Although it is rumoured that the eighteen-year-old is more likely to strengthen Real Madrid’s defence in the summer. Marín would be the quickest and most attainable. Still a Real Madrid player, away at Alavés. But he doesn’t have the form to complement Rudigger.

As part of Real Madrid’s solution to the issue of injured defenders, the fight for luxury reinforcements for the summer transfer window is in the background. According to all information from the club’s social media, Real Madrid are in contact with Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies. The latter’s contract expires in 2025. He doesn’t want to extend it in Bavaria. So Bayern must sell him. Moreover, Davies is reportedly already determined to strengthen the ranks of Los Blancos.

Manchester United

A few days ago Manchester United officially announced that twenty-five percent ownership of the club has been acquired by the owner of the petrochemical concern Ineos, Jim Ratcliff. The English billionaire has got his hands on the sporting side of the club. His people will decide on player purchases, the future of the coach and the directors. In short, everything about the United team. But winter transfers will still be handled by the current team, subject to consultation with Ratcliffe’s team.

The Red Devils need to strengthen their offense. Three names from the Bundesliga are reportedly in the discussion. Timo Werner, Serhout Guirassy, Donyell Malen and Timo Werner, one of Germany’s greatest sharpshooters of his time, who totally burnt out at Chelsea. One of the main factors for him was the difficulty of the Premier League.

Twenty-four year old Dutchman Donyell Malen, a Borussia Dortmund player for a change, is not the type of player capable of firing United up, however. Twenty-seven-year-old Guinean footballer Serhout Guirassy (currently pulling for VfB Stuttgart, who are playing for trophies this season) is also in the bidding. Probably the best possible option. Guirassy has been in the Bundesliga for a year. He is the only one capable of keeping up with Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane in the battle for the golden boot. The exit clause in his contract is 17.5 million euros.

Anyway, the transfer window is still going to be interesting. Who knows what will happen during January. We mustn’t forget the new competitors on the market. Saudi Arabia are certainly grinding their teeth. Steven Gerrard himself has said for Al Ettifaq that the club needs reinforcements and will go for them.

Source: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Transfermarkt