Analysis: Do Real Madrid need to add to their squad in January?

Real Madrid have had a somewhat underwhelming start to the new season. They did win their sixth UEFA Super Cup, but two draws against Mallorca and Las Palmas mean that Carlo Ancelotti’s side are currently four points adrift of Barcelona at the top of the standings in La Liga.

The summer transfer window was rather quiet for Los Blancos. Kylian Mbappe and Endrick Felipe were signed before it had even opened, and as it turned out, they were the only additions to Ancelotti’s squad. In terms of departures, there were four: Kepa Arrizabalaga (returned to Chelsea), Nacho Fernandez (contract expiry), Toni Kroos (retired) and Joselu Mato (sold to Al-Gharafa).

This business meant that Ancelotti has less players to work with than he did last season. That is already starting to take its toll, with five players currently suffering with injury problems: Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos, Ferland Mendy and Aurelien Tchouameni – although the latter pair are not expected to be out for longer than two weeks.

Right now, Ancelotti’s squad is threadbare, and especially in defence and midfield. It may not have mattered too much in the first few weeks because there are not too many fixtures, but it could have a serious effect in the months to come. Real Madrid are one of several teams that will be playing weekend-midweek-weekend for some time between now and December.

So, with that in mind, should Real Madrid be looking to make signings? Defensa Central say that an offer is to be placed for Alphonso Davies to join in January, although it’s unlikely that anything will happen as he would be available as a free agent next summer (and left-back is not a priority position).

It’s become clear that reinforcements would certainly help Real Madrid, especially in navigating the tricky schedule. That may not be as bad from January onwards, but there will still be some – plus, it’s worth taking into account that the Club World Cup takes place before next summer’s transfer window opens.

At the very least, a central defender or central midfielder should be signed. The former can be covered by Aurelien Tchouameni as a 3rd/4th-choice option, but then he would need to come out of midfield, meaning than an extra body would be valuable there.

Despite this, it would be surprising to see Real Madrid go for anyone unless it was an emergency. Florentino Perez seems determined to avoid spending any “unnecessary” funds – which is surprising given that there is so much money that has been, and will be, generated by the club.