Real Madrid find themselves in an iffy situation with their defensive unit’s shortcomings exposed by FC Barcelona last Sunday in the Spanish Super Cup final.
Despite the glaring problems, the hierarchy has opted not to go out and sign reinforcements in the ongoing January window and look for solutions within the club.
As far as the centre-back role is concerned, there is growing support for Raul Asencio to become a regular starter while David Alaba’s imminent return is seen as a boost.
For the right-back position, it appears that Real Madrid could look for creative solutions if they are unable to fast-track Trent Alexander-Arnold’s arrival from Liverpool to this month.
One such solution, according to MARCA, that Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid could explore is deploying seasoned campaigner Ferland Mendy as a right-back with Fran Garcia or Eduardo Camavinga taking over at left-back.
The idea of using Fede Valverde as a makeshift right-back has been considered but it would mean that the team loses one of its most important players from the engine room.
As such, the staff could experiment with Mendy on the right side of the defence with the Frenchman being greatly trusted by Ancelotti.
While his form of late has been down, there is a belief within the camp that he would be a formidable player once he returns to his best.
The other option that is being considered is deploying Raul Asencio himself at right-back to improve the defensive solidity.
As things stand, however, the idea of promoting Lorenzo Aguado is not high on Ancelotti’s agenda.