Losing Eder Militao on Matchday 1 of the new La Liga season triggered tension within the Real Madrid board. The Brazilian, who was Carlo Ancelotti’s first-choice defender, had suffered an ACL tear after all and was expected to be out for the entire season.
David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger soon stabilised the ship for Los Blancos. The duo struck up a stellar partnership at the back, helping the team to one of their best defensive starts in recent times.
Alaba’s ACL injury last week, thus, came as a blow that reopened the healing wounds. The management are now eyeing a replacement signing, and their hunt for a new player has taken them to familiar doors.
The option in Manchester
One of the several options Real Madrid are considering is the arrival of Raphael Varane from Manchester United. The French centre-back left Real Madrid in August 2021 after a decade at the club, but is now seen as a viable option to provide cover in defence.
As revealed in AS’s latest report, Carlo Ancelotti would have no objection to Varane arriving as Alaba’s replacement.
Notably, the defender left Real Madrid days after Ancelotti returned as Real Madrid’s new manager in 2021, but there appears to be no bad blood between the two club legends.
Varane and Ancelotti during their time together in Madrid (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
Ancelotti publicly discusses a possible signing
Real Madrid have been relatively firm on their stance of not signing a new player this winter transfer window. However, Ancelotti and his staff are hoping for a recruitment nevertheless.
Speaking to the media ahead of Real Madrid’s clash against Deportivo Alaves, the Italian gaffer was asked his opinion over a new signing to which he said,
“I am not going to say if I would like to sign or not. Together we will think and make the best decision. It is a possibility to go to the market if a good option comes up.”
“We are talking to the club and we will evaluate it in the next few days. We don’t want to rush it. The market ends on 31 January,” he added.
Varane, whose market value stands at €25 million, has not been playing regularly at Manchester United. And with Ancelotti not opposed to the idea of having him back at the Bernabeu, it remains to be seen if Real Madrid go down that path.