How Much Better Can We Get? - The Transfers, Rumors & Lies Thread

I would keep Modric as long as he is happy with a secondary role. Still quite useful.

 

Because they are getting Wirz. Hopefully this isn't some kind of trend here, where all our recent signings are being hyped up by the club as if we discovered a bunch of hidden jewels at cut prices but in reality they are no where near the best options on the market and the club is acting out of desperation due to the need to find some warm, healthy bodies in time for the CWC.

I'm not a scout and don't rely on video games, fantasy leagues, etc., but like I read somewhere else, none of these guys were in the radar 9 months ago and TAA is really the only one that has top level pedigree and experience (3+ seasons of CL).

Damn that's cold, I kind of thought Xabi would cut him off though.

Someone had to do it but I think it kind of sucks the way the club strings it's veterans along like this with 1 year contract until one day there's a manager change and the new guy is like, "Luka Modric - who is that? Never heard of him, get me Stiller and Mastantuono, ASAP. I'm not Carlo Ancelotti when I say jump you need to be airborne before that."

I mean imagine showing up to your job, too old go anywhere else and start, and the company is like "The club has decided to part ways. We already moved your stuff out of the locker, you can pick it up at the lost and found."

 

I agree with this, yet I was wrong in thinking that a young, physical, energetic, talented midfield of Cama, Tchou, Fede, and Jude would compensate for the loss of Kroos by being dominant in a different way. We rarely had a game where it felt like our midfield "dominated." We don't need an exact like-for-like replacement, just as Kroos was not an exact replacement for Xabi, but we do seem to need a great ball distributor.

 

First attack by Crystal Palace and they score. While City look like us with their ball circulating in attack

 

How Wharton till now ?

 

It’s apparently an unpopular opinion here, but I think Arda makes the most sense as a player in the mold of Xabi, Kroos, and Xhaka. There are pretty much no generational players of that type around, unless you include players of slightly different profiles, but the way Arda passes and strikes the ball leads me to believe he can become the next in that line.

 

🚨👀 Álvaro Carreras likes Dean Huijsen’s Comunicado Oficial. pic.twitter.com/Z2Vrln1kE7

— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) May 17, 2025

 

If the reports are true that we’re looking for another center back, I hope we go for one that’s a bit of a tweener between CB and FB - Hincapie is who I particularly have in mind due to the Xabi connection. Saliba would be a dream, but I’m guessing we wait a year or two for him to save money, and trust Rudiger to hold down the fort in the meantime.

 

More so than any other position, having a defender that can legit play CB or FB is an absolute dream and ideal scenario.

 

Lukeba is that guy.

 

🚨👀 Álvaro Carreras likes Dean Huijsen’s Comunicado Oficial. pic.twitter.com/Z2Vrln1kE7

— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) May 17, 2025

 

Hato can do that too. Lukeba renewed with 90 ME+ buyout so RM signing him is very unlikely.

 

This was supposed to be Camavinga but he has not shown any progression in this area. If anything he has picked up some bad habits that are counterproductive to him being a midfield distributor.

I think Carlo had the idea of the midfield being...
...............Bellingham
.....Camavinga........Valverde

On paper it makes sense but Camavinga got injured almost right away to start the year and when he came back he seemed out of sorts. Rather than fall into the role, he starting to play more like a box to box player and wanted to always attack with the ball rather than distribute.

He has been in and out of the linup all year because of injuries and never seemed to get into a rhythm. Each time he came back, it seems like his bad habits got worse.

We will have to see what Xabi does with him. It is probably to early to say whether Camavinga can sort of fill that role in at least a partial capacity.

With no natural distributor in the team, it sort of forced Ceballos to be a necessity when in a good Real Madrid squad he should be nothing more than the 5th or 6th midfielder. It also made the team over rely on almost 40 year old Modric. Any time Ceballos or Modric has a good game, it was because they were fillling a natural void in the squad.

I have not looked at the stats, but I feel like the Valverde/Tchouameni was often times one of the worse combinations because neither them have the profile to distribute the ball.

 

Álvaro Carreras (22) vs Michael Olise

🧱 pic.twitter.com/THclLKrgz8

— Blazz (@BlazzRM) May 17, 2025

Alvaro Carreras vs Atletico Madrid (H) - UCL 2024/25
pic.twitter.com/f5BzSGU2GY

— SIR AHMED (@midopido21) May 17, 2025

 

Not renewing Luka is the right call.

We need to start seriously moving for Angelo Stiller.

 

I agree with that 100%. We had a sample size enough to see that the two of them are not compatible.

This where I think Tchoumeni is sort of obsolete. If it’s a choice between keeping Tchoumeni or Camavinga, I’m team Cama. He just needs to get fit and have Xabi reprogram some of the bad habits out of him, which I think can happen.

 

How Stiller in comparison to Tchu?

 

Tcho proper DM. Stiller's defense and hustle is comparable to Modric than a proper DM from few match compilations I have seen. Stiller should be #8 for a top team than #6/DM.

 

I highly doubt it will be Tchou that will make way IF Stiller signs, I can see a starting midfield 4 of Tchou, Stiller, Fede and Jude.
Tchou has been imperious as a DMC over the last 4 months.

 

Some interesting comparisons between Carreras and Kerkez.

What jumps out is Carreras' crossing, progressive passes and his aerial and ground duel%

 

Love Luka but everyones' time comes at some point, would not be surprised if he is not renewed, but, who is Angelo Stiller?, i have no idea, has anyone really seen him play, not highlights, and other than stats, i mean we've gotten some duds from the Bundesliga before, Sahin , Jovic, who were superb there, playing for Madrid is different, so, just asking

If we are keeping the guys young guys that we have in the midfield Tchou, Cama, Jude, Fede and Arda was promised a spot there and we add this Stiller guy and bring back Paz as some would like, not to mention the Argentinian youngster Franco that's a lot of young talent for a few spaces, just this season we've seen constant calls for mins for everyone, it will be interesting to see how Xabi will handle that ( although i think it's unlikely we get 3 new players for the middle of the park)

Also, with Dean coming ( welcome Dean) Toni and, like it or not, Eder still here, and, talk of another CB, will everyone now be comfortable with Raul being possibly relegated to the bench? yet again, let's see how Xabi handles it all, hopefully he can get the best out of everyone, but some players will, without a doubt, as is the norm with every big club, have to sit, it will be interesting to read the perspectives of some

 

With the sheer number of games and injuries I'm expecting the team to navigate through, I don't think we'll be having that much of an issue with personal. Besides that can be sorted out after a season when Xabi gets to see who does and doesnt work well with his system.

Remember the team used to have one of, if not the deepest midfield rotations in Europe, and look what happened.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what Xabi can do with the midfield Fed, Jude, etc al. I expect players like Camavinga, Tchou and Guler to improve under him. All of them had great first seasons with Carlo and then kind of tapered off.

Unfortunately if reports are true that he wants a new midfielder as a priority, then it might be because he doesn't want to spend/waste time working with players that are struggling and expects that the club can to go out and buy new players when the old ones don't perform.