Real Madrid signed one of the best players in world football for free this past summer in Kylian Mbappe, with top prospect Endrick also arriving to shake up the Merengue attack.
Heading into 2025, Real Madrid don’t have as much interest in signing world-class attackers with their front line loaded up, though Juni Calafat continues to monitor River Plate playmaker Franco Mastantuono.
Right now, the hot topic around Valdebebas is the defense, which has been ravaged again by injuries this season. Left back Alphonso Davies was a priority target for Real Madrid last summer, and there is hope that the club can sign him for free from Bayern Munich next summer.
According to a report from Cadena SER, Real Madrid are highly interested in signing Liverpool right back Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bayer Leverkusen center back Jonathan Tah.
Those two experienced defenders look like the new top targets for Real Madrid. Alexander-Arnold has been on Real’s dream wishlist for a few years now, and with his contract expiring, there is a chance he could move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
That may not be a great chance, because “TAA” has a special bond with Liverpool and is one of the two best right backs in the world alongside 2024 Ballon d’Or candidate Dani Carvajal.
But Carvajal just tore his ACL. And when Real Madrid come calling with an opportunity for a player to start in his prime for a team fresh off winning the Champions League, it’s very hard to say no.
Tah is a less clear-cut choice. He’s only been linked heavily to Bayern Munich until recent reports out of Germany suggested that Real Madrid are showing serious interest with Barcelona also involved.
Those rumors could be agent-driven, as Tah is on an expiring contract after Bayern failed to sign him last summer, largely thanks to a bizarre spat between Leverkusen’s CEO and Bayern sporting director Max Eberl.
While Tah is coming off a great season as a top ball-playing center back and key leader for an undefeated Leverkusen side, he isn’t better than either of Madrid’s starters and is already 28.
Real Madrid love going to the free agent well at center back, and they have done so successfully with both David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger playing key roles in Champions League titles.
However, Alaba and Rudiger entered Madrid as previous Champions League winners and were among the best players on those respective sides. Tah had a huge year for Leverkusen in 2023/24, but he’s yet to ever prove himself in the UCL.
