Real Madrid have kept seven clean sheets in 12 of Santiago Solari’s matches in charge, but they are looking to sign a central defender in the winter.
Real Madrid will need to sign a central defender in January to pair up with Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Nacho Fernandez once the season starts getting busier. Los Merengues have two names in their squad- the first of which is Jesus Vallejo. The ex-Eintracht Frankfurt loanee return to Real Madrid’s first-team squad in 2017/18 after a spell in Germany but he has failed in dealing with the pressure. Injuries have troubled him continuously as well.
Javi Sanchez, the Real Madrid Castilla captain has been recently training with the senior team and has made the cut into the squad and started a few matches. Sanchez has shown the leadership qualities and desire that could make him a successor to Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid. However, at only 21, he is a young option and does not have the experience just yet to play on the biggest stage.
Mario Hermoso of Espanyol was linked with a move to the club and it was being reported that the Whites could activate their buyback option in January. While that could be a deal which goes through in January, the Whites have also been linked with Kalidou Koulibaly. However, there is no need to spend a lot of cash on a player who is not going to play regularly in the team.
Hence, Kepler Lima Pepe is the ideal man to come to Real Madrid as early as January. The Portugal international has spent over a decade at the Santiago Bernabeu and is a highly regarded man at the club. Having left the club in the summer of 2017, Pepe played with Besiktas before terminating his contract with the Turks this week after they were being financially crippled since a few weeks.
Pepe is now a free agent and Florentino Perez could make the much unthinkable move by signing him. The Br azilian-Portuguese is now 35 years old but is capable of playing at the top-level for another couple of years. Yet, he will be more than happy to play second fiddle to Ramos and Varane. Pepe’s experience will be really helpful to the club as well as its youngsters. Plus, the defender could end his career at the biggest club in the world.