Eder Militao's injury forces Real Madrid to explore 'uncharted territory'

The serious injury to Eder Militao, who has said goodbye to the season after suffering his second anterior cruciate ligament tear, has forced Real Madrid to explore unknown territory. After several years without signing in the winter market, the Merengues have made the decision to incorporate a centre-back in January to reinforce a defence that, today, only has Antonio Rüdiger as its only guaranteed player.

In Chamartín they have a clear roadmap: they will not sign a 'patch' in the next winter window, but rather they will undertake the arrival of a proven defender, with immediate performance and a certain projection for several years. For this reason, the Whites have defined their list of potential players, which is made up of Aymeric Laporte, Castello Lukeba and Jonathan Tah.

Will Madrid 'steal' Tah's signing from Barça?

Precisely, the German has been the last to join the Merengue agenda for January. According to 'AS', the 28-year-old defender, also on the agenda of FC Barcelona, ​​is very popular in the capital, where, in addition to considering that he fits into the team's system, they value his contractual situation, since the player's commitment to Leverkusen expires in 2025 and the Vikings will be able to play the card of being able to take him for free in the summer, to get him at a better price in the winter.

Madrid's other alternatives for the defense

However, the player would be the 'plan C' of the Casa Blanca. The priority is Laporte, but his operation is complex due to the high figure that Al-Nassr demands to transfer him (around 15-20 million) and the salary that the center-back receives in Saudi Arabia, which is around 8 million euros net per season, an amount that would have to be reduced to sign for the Casa Blanca.

For his part, Lukeba appears as the backup option for the Euro 2024 champion with Spain, since at 21 years old he would serve to reinforce the rearguard for many years, but his transfer would be even more expensive than Laporte's. The player has just renewed until 2029 and, despite the fact that RB Leipzig will not refer to his clause of 90 million euros, they will ask for a notably high amount for a player valued at 40 'kilos'.

Thus, Madrid's planning could end up 'harming' Barça, who could see how Tah, one of their main objectives for the defense for next season, ends up heading to Valdebebas, where they have started the machinery to reinforce a squad extremely punished by injuries.