With Eder Militao out for the season and David Alaba still slow to return, here are five Real Madrid center back transfer targets for the January 2025 window that won’t break the bank.
Real Madrid should have signed more center back help in the summer 2024 transfer window, because even though they were able to weather the storm after losing Eder Militao and David Alaba to ACL tears before the first half of the 2023/24 campaign ended, the warning signs were there for the Champions League and LaLiga winners.
This season, Real Madrid are already without Militao again due to a new ACL tear, while Alaba is still at least a few more weeks away from returning from last December’s injury.
In fact, they came into the campaign already shorthanded from the last season – and not just because of Alaba’s slow recovery. Real Madrid lost their most important utility veteran backup, Nacho Fernandez, to the Saudi Pro League.
Raul Asencio has risen as the new hot prospect at Real Madrid in central defense this season following Joan Martinez’s own preseason ACL tear, though Carlo Ancelotti has been slow to trust him, mistakenly going with midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni over Raul at center back.
As of right now, Antonio Rudiger is the only healthy senior center back in the side, and Raul is the only other center back at all. Real Madrid need immediate help at center back if they want to repeat as Champions League winners, as their stock in the competition has slipped in the face of Liverpool while they remain just second in LaLiga with Atletico Madrid now rising, too.
Here are five cheap Real Madrid center back transfer targets the club could conceivably sign in January.
Jonathan Tah
It’s more likely for Jonathan Tah to switch teams in June after agreeing to a pre-contract deal with a bigger club in January, because he currently plays for a pretty big club with high aspirations for the remainder of the season in Bayer Leverkusen.
Die Werkself are among the darkhorse contenders in the Champions League, and although they have been less impressive in their follow-up Bundesliga campaign from last season’s historic undefeated season, they are still only four points behind Bayern Munich and the sole credible challengers to the usual champions.
That said, the sweepstakes for Tah are hot, and Leverkusen won’t want to lose him to Bayern, especially after the public spat between executives of the Bundesliga title rivals.
Barcelona seem to be the most heavily involved team in the race to sign Tah, even though they have better center backs than Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, but since Hansi Flick likes Tah and Inigo Martinez is also on an expiring contract, their desire for a ball-playing center back is understandable.
Real Madrid have better options on the market, but it seems like they like to sign veteran central defenders for free. Both David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger were instrumental in two Champions League titles not long after signing free agent deals after establishing themselves as stars for top teams (2019/20 Bayern Munich and 2020/21 Chelsea), so Tah only keeps up that tradition.
For a small fee, Real Madrid could accelerate the Tah transfer, and while that seems to go against their M.O. of only signing center backs for free – which was even their approach for young prospect Leny Yoro, who ultimately moved to Manchester United for a big fee in the summer – they might be forced to do it.
Mario Gila
Mario Gila has been making the rounds in Serie A, and he is a former Real Madrid prospect whom the club sold to Lazio for six million euros. Real Madrid always have a customary buy-back clause over Castilla stars they sell, and with how well Gila is playing for Lazio this season, it feels like it just makes sense for the club to bring him back.
Real Madrid could plug and play Gila immediately as a starter next to Rudiger, and since the jury is still out on Alaba’s ability to contribute after spending more than 12 months out with a torn ACL, Gila could end up being the permanent starter for at least the remainder of the 2024/25 season.
With a market value approaching 30 million euros and interest from other top clubs in Serie A, Gila could be an immediate profit for Real Madrid. Because of their 50% rights and subsequent buy-back ability, a fee of 12 million euros is all it would take for Real to sign Gila, who could be worth two to three times that amount by this time next year.
His numbers in Serie A this season have been fantastic. Gila is averaging 3 combined tackles and interceptions per game with 0.5 dribbles completed allowed and a pass completion percentage of nearly 92 on around 60 attempts per game.
Perhaps Gila is too aggressive as a center back partner next to Rudiger, but he’s better than the players Real currently have and cheaper than most of the credible options on the January 2025 transfer market.
Fabian Schar
Fabian Schar seems like a total wild card, but I don’t think it’s out of the question for Real Madrid to kick the tires on a player who might actually be the best overall center back on the market with an expiring contract.
Because Newcastle haven’t gotten the same press as other clubs in the Premier League over the years, Schar has flown under the radar while the likes of Virgil van Dijk, William Saliba, and even Marc Guehi deservedly pick up all the praise.
But the Swiss international has legitimately been one of the best center backs of the last 10 years for both club and country, and at 33 years old, he’s still going strong.
Newcastle are pushing for European football, so, as with Leverkusen, they may not be willing to sell for even a small fee in the final months of the 2024/25 season. And at 33, Real Madrid won’t want him for more than this season.
I’d rather go for Schar as a rental than Aymeric Laporte, though. Schar is cheaper, playing in a more competitive league, and potentially better defensively.
Ardian Ismajli
I always have to double-check the spelling of his name in order to avoid calling him “Adrian”, so while Ismajli is far from a household name in Serie A, he has piqued the interest of virtually every top team in Italy going into the January 2025 transfer market.
Empoli are here to stay in Serie A and produce a breakout player every season, and this campaign’s standout is a 28-year-old Ismajli, who has legitimately been one of the best central defenders in Italian football this season.
Juventus and Napoli are both pursuing him hard, as Ismajli is on an expiring contract. While he’s not normally the caliber of player Real Madrid are linked to, Ismajli could be a better six-month rental than either Tah or Schar, given his performances this season and his minimal fee.
Empoli aren’t usually the team Real Madrid go to for transfers, but that’s precisely what makes this deal appealing; the cost could be so low. Ismajli is averaging 2.2 interceptions per game with just 0.2 dribbles completed allowed.
Take away his name or the name of this club. If you took away that to bias your mind, you’d be all over Ismajli. Those are Virgil van Dijk numbers at center back and the kind of covering that could give Real Madrid the boost they need next to Rudiger en route to another Champions League title.
Emmanuel Agbadou
For another underrated option at center back, Emmanuel Agbadou of Reims has been stellar for more than just this season and is one of the most underrated center backs on this planet because, well, so few people are going to have a veteran center back from a small-sized Ligue 1 club on their radar.
But Agbadou is turning in another great season here in 2024/25. The 27-year-old is averaging 3.2 combined tackles and interceptions per game with 4.5 clearances per match while allowing 0.5 dribbles completed per game.
Mario Gila is a better option because he’s younger and better on the ball, but Agbadou is even more active at making interventions. He could be an inexpensive partner for Rudiger, meshing well to turn Real into an above-average defensive side, especially in comparison to the Tchouameni and Rudiger partnership.
As for the cost of the deal, Agbadou’s transfer value is just 10 million euros per Transfermarkt. But since his contract goes through to 2027/28, Real Madrid might not want that since they’d have to keep him on the books for a few more years, which, by then, they’d have multiple better center backs than Agbadou, especially since Raul and Martinez will have developed significantly by then.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at kparvizi19[at]gmail.com.