Real Madrid 2022-23 knows that it will have to cover several vacancies, which will be left by the players who end their contract (Isco, Marcelo and Bale) and those that can produce possible exits, some very likely (Jovic, Ceballos, Vallejo, Mariano…). Thus, with half of the white squad with options to change scenery, the club’s idea is to sign one or two world-class figures (Mbappé and Haaland, in order of priority), other players dedicated to the first level to form a Plan B solvent and fill the bottom of the cabinet from two points of origin: those on loan who will return in the summer and players from the quarry who are considered ready to make the leap.
Real Madrid has five players on loan at this time, although only four will return to the white discipline in July. Brahim Díaz is finishing the first of his two loan years at Milan, where he already played on loan in 2020-21. In July 2023, when that link ends, he will return and then it will be put on the table that he stays in Madrid or that he is transferred to make money. The other four on loan must be presented at the start of the 2022-23 preseason: Odriozola, Kubo, Mayoral and Reinier.
Odriozola, with Fiorentina.
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The former will stay in the squad for sure to compete with Carvajal, his experience at Fiorentina is being positive and the club wants to strengthen that position, in which the current tenant of the position is going through difficulties, between injuries and the performance he is showing, which is not quite what it was years ago; with Lucas Vázquez as a wild card to oscillate between the side and the extreme, the position is considered covered with the return of Odriozola.
Kubo finally wants to be part of the first team and the club see him with good eyes, but for this he needs Vinicius to be nationalized (it is late, it should be done by summer), thus freeing up an extra-community position; right now there are three covers, by Vini, Rodrygo and Militao. Until one of them gets citizenship, Kubo can’t wear white. But he is confident that the problem, which has been delayed by the pandemic, will not go beyond this season.
Mayoral, with Getafe.
AFP7 via Europa Press
Mayoral has convinced on his loan at Roma, where he scored 17 goals last year. But the arrival of Mourinho reduced his weight and he ended up being loaned to Getafe, where he started as a shot, but has slowed down a bit. In any case, in Madrid they trust him a lot, but his opinion remains to be seen, especially if Haaland comes and he sees himself as the third nine of the squadthe one who plays the fewest minutes.
And Reinier already knows for sure that he will not stay, he has to be loaned again, given that he has hardly played in Dortmund. His two-year loan in Germany has been a fiasco and, in addition, he occupies a non-EU position, so he has no place either administratively or sportingly. The priority is to find him a destination where he plays safe. And to all this, we must add those who can contribute from the quarry.
Blanco, Marín, Arribas… and a doubt on the left
Blanco can go up from Castilla to rest Casemiro; that position is the only one that is not doubled in the team and Madrid regularly finds it difficult to manage without the Brazilian, it already happened against PSG. The Cordovan is an undeniable talent that has not yet left Castilla, he must make the leap now.
A central defender, Rafa Marín or Gila, could also go up, given the probable departure of Vallejo. Arribas is very popular and he is emerging this season as a good scorer (he is the team’s top scorer), but the player’s idea now is more about a loan in which to gain experience in the First Division, with a view to staying in Madrid, if possible, in the near future.
And there is the doubt of the left side, in which Marcelo will leave. There are two options: stay with Miguel Gutiérrez or give him up and recover Fran García from Rayo, more shot in the First Division and that would cost only five million euros. The first option does not imply cost, although Ancelotti has shown certain doubts with Miguel, whom he used at the beginning of the course, but with whom he has stopped counting. The second requires a small investment, but it would be a player with a foot in professional football, his learning curve is much more complete.