Real Madrid Still Need to Sign 1 Defender, and Jonathan Tah Ticks the Most Boxes
Real Madrid started the 2016/17 season by winning the UEFA Super Cup in Norway on Tuesday, beating Sevilla 3-2 after extra time to follow up lifting the UEFA Champions League title at the end of last season.
Back-to-back European trophies will only serve to boost the optimism and confidence in Zinedine Zidane and his players that they are heading down the path for success, but the squad is not yet so complete that they can reasonably be assured of overhauling Barcelona—or staying marginally ahead of Atletico Madrid, for that matter.
While most rumours have surrounded midfield additions throughout the summer, it is in defence where Zidane's priorities should lie. Adding at least one more defender to his ranks could go a long way toward helping Los Blancos finally bring back the title they crave in La Liga.
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Quiet summer, defensive concerns
Not a single new face can be found at the Santiago Bernabeu this season other than new fitness coach Antonio Pintus. In fairness, perhaps even that appointment can be seen to be providing benefits already, considering the first game of the season went to extra time and Real finished much stronger, albeit against 10 men.
Other than Zidane's new lieutenant, though, Alvaro Morata was signed from Juventus after two seasons away, and a slew of players have been involved over the summer who were either out on loan or with Castilla last season, most notably Marco Asensio but also the likes of Mariano Diaz and Marcos Llorente.
Outgoings have been largely restricted to loans or permanent departures of 20-something prospects who were never likely to make the grade, with Jese Rodriguez's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain the only particularly notable exit.
All told, it was a much quieter summer than Real Madrid usually have, perhaps especially after a major tournament, when they have often previously looked to bring in a big-name player on the world stage.
It means the deficiencies that were present in the squad, especially in defence, will still be prevalent this upcoming season—and there have already been signs of them in pre-season.
Centre-back
A woeful goal or two conceded against PSG in the opening game has been followed up by individual errors of judgement, particularly from captain and key man at the back Sergio Ramos.
His daft challenge in the Super Cup to concede a penalty was a continuation of his moments of rashness which were seen all too often last year, when he was well below his best.
With Raphael Varane searching for the consistency that has long eluded him, both in fitness and form, it fell to Pepe to be the top defender in white last term.
Between the quartet—Nacho being the fourth—Real have just about had enough bodies to get through ongoing injury worries, but there has been no established partnership, nor a single, central leader in place for some time, which makes Ramos' decline over the past year all the more worrying. Of course, he is capable of returning to his peak, but concentration or judgement, more than any technical trait, remains the Spaniard's biggest issue.
Whether because of Pepe's age or Varane's inability to cement himself as a regular in the team in his six seasons at the club, Real's collective thinking must be turning toward a new centre-back soon.
Left-back
While Danilo and Dani Carvajal give Real Madrid depth and power on the right side of defence, the left is a different matter. Last year, the likes of Denis Cheryshev, Nacho and Alvaro Arbeloa were all handed the odd chance to perform there when Marcelo was injured or rested, but none were ideal replacements.
This season's squad isn't looking much better equipped to deal with the Brazilian's absences.
Fabio Coentrao has returned from his loan at AS Monaco with a serious thigh injury, and the worst-case scenario will see him sidelined until October, per the French club's initial statement on the matter (h/t ESPN FC).
Even before that latest tear, which happened in April and saw him miss Euro 2016 with eventual winners Portugal, Coentrao had struggled to maintain fitness after picking up two separate hamstring issues and fracturing a bone in his foot. All told, he barely totalled over 1,000 minutes of football in Ligue 1, fewer than even Nacho managed for Real Madrid in La Liga.
Simply put, if Coentrao doesn't recover fitness and find form, there is no alternative in the squad to cover for one of the most important players Real possess, in a tactical sense as well as taking into account his excellent technical traits.
Whether it's overlapping or underlapping down the flank, his solo dribbles toward the penalty area or the ability to hit the byline and cut back dangerous balls into the box, Marcelo offers an awful lot to Real's wide play that allows those ahead of him—namely Cristiano Ronaldo—to thrive.
It would be nothing short of a disaster if Marcelo were to pick up an early-season injury that rules him out for more than a few weeks.
Options
Naturally, the obvious answer is to find someone who can cover both positions, but those who can play centre-back are usually more reserved, defence-first full-backs—not at all what Real Madrid require to provide cover for Marcelo.
Given Real's squad is rather bloated in some areas and competition is fierce at most positions, the alternative option of signing two players might not be an attractive one, though it's at least an option with plenty of spare funds this summer.
A balance, then, must be struck: Centre-back is the more pressing requirement, with an ability to surge forward from the left when required.
David Alaba has often been linked to Real and would be a superb option to play left-back on occasion—if he were regularly featuring in central midfield. The centre of the park, though, is one area where Real are utterly stacked: Toni Kroos and Luka Modric hold centre stage, Mateo Kovacic looks set to contribute far more and Casemiro is the holder, even without considering attacking options Isco, James and Marco Asensio.
The Austrian reportedly rejected a move to Madrid in any case, per Sport Bild (h/t Sport's Juanma Roberto).
Tottenham Hotspur's Jan Vertonghen, Manchester United's Marcos Rojo and Schalke's Sead Kolasinac all fit the bill stylistically and positionally, and each would be well within Real's financial reach.
Whether any have the capacity to elevate to the level of Real Madrid's XI is another matter, but therein lies the compromise of taking one player to cover more positions.
If, instead, the option taken is to bring in a sole centre-back who can dominate the back line for years to come—and trust Nacho at left-back or Coentrao recovering in time—then the Bundesliga is where Real should look, particularly Jonathan Tah of Bayer Leverkusen.
A powerful, athletic and intelligent defender, Tah only turned 20 earlier this year but has already broken into the German national squad. He is a well-rounded player and has shown remarkable consistency in his game.
According to WhoScored.com, Tah finished last season in the top 16 in the league in tackles, aerial duels won and interceptions, rating fourth for the latter. His recovery pace is excellent, and his price could turn out to be a bargain; he moved from Hamburg to B04 a year ago for €10 million, and Sport Bild suggested Leverkusen could ask for around €12.5 million this summer (h/t 90min.com).
Usually operating on the right of the centre, Tah would partner Ramos without a problem, but there is also the possibility of his forging a partnership with Varane for the long term.
He's one of Europe's finest up-and-coming centre-backs and has already shown the ability to cope at the highest level.
Real Madrid haven't improved their defensive outlook at all from last season, and Tah could help take them to the next level, both in this campaign and for many years beyond.
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