Real Madrid were able to overcome ACL tears to Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, and David Alaba last season to win La Liga and the Champions League, so if anyone can overcome another rash of serious injuries in 2024/25, then it is the Merengue club.
But with Barcelona firing on all cylinders after the Hansi Flick appointment, Real Madrid are up against it this season, as exemplified by their 4-0 blowout loss at home to the Blaugrana in El Clasico.
Real Madrid did not have Courtois or Rodrygo Goes available due to injury, and while both will be back soon, one star player who didn’t play won’t be back any time soon.
Dani Carvajal played so well in the 2023/24 season as a right back that he was a legitimate Ballon d’Or candidate by the end of the campaign, even before his Spanish national team won Euro 2024.
However, Carvajal just tore his ACL, leaving Real Madrid in a precarious position again with Lucas Vazquez as the lone option at right back – and he very obviously isn’t a right back by training.
After Vazquez got pulverized by Raphinha and the electrifying Barcelona attack, Real Madrid are looking closer at right back options in the 2025 transfer markets, but they may quietly feel like they already have their long-term solution at the position.
According to a report from Fernando S. Tavero of Diario AS, Real Madrid believe young right back prospect Jesus Fortea is, like Sergio Ramos regen Joan Martinez at center back, a generational talent.
Martinez himself suffered a torn ACL in the preseason and was unable to help Real Madrid at their thin center back position this season, just as Carlo Ancelotti had him called up as a first-team player.
Meanwhile, Fortea can be a part of the equation in 2024/25 if Carlo gives him a shot, though the 17-year-old may be too raw to make an impact in the first team just yet.
Like Martinez, though, Fortea has also been battling injuries, so Diario AS add that Real Madrid feel that those injuries have prevented him from making an impact on the first team.
Real Madrid fans may remember the story of how Real Madrid aggressively recruited Fortea, a slam-dunk prospect and one of the best in Spain, after winning the Champions League in 2021/22.
That set off renewed hostility off the pitch on the youth transfer market between both capital clubs. Real Madrid felt it was worth it to make this move for Fortea, so it isn’t a surprise to see, two years later, that they think the right back is generational.
Of course, most fans will hope that Real Madrid don’t take Fortea’s promise as an excuse to avoid signing a more known commodity, with Premier League stars Trent Alexander-Arnold and Pedro Porro standing out as the top options.
