Fabio Coentrao, Pepe and Danilo left the club this summer leaving some space in the defense line. Real Madrid signed Theo Hernández in the left-back and bring back Jesús Vallejo from Germany to cover a spot in the full-back position. However, Zinedine Zidane might face a lot of problems in the defense line if the injuries show up during a long season.
We could see this risk in the game against Valencia. Raphael Varane and Jesús Vallejo were injured and Sergio Ramos was suspended, so Casemiro had to play as a full back and Real Madrid suffered. Los Blancos didn’t defend as well as they used to and Valencia had several chances in the counter attack. This is something that could happen again during the season.
In his time at Real Madrid, Raphael Varane has suffered several physical problems, so it’s very likely that this happen again. The same situation faces Jesús Vallejo, who was injured a lot of time last season at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Besides, Daniel Carvajal is the only right back in the squad after Danilo’s departure. If the Spaniard needs to rest or he’s injured, Nacho Fernández will be the chosen one to play in this position, but Zidane would lose a great full back. The other option is giving the opportunity to Achraf Hakimi, but he’s still too young and playing with Castilla. Despite his age, he might have his options with Los Blancos because he’s gaining some experience little by little and, for instance, he scored this week his first goal with his national team, Morocco.
At least, Zinedine Zidane has improved the squad with the changes in the defense line. Theo Hernández is younger and better than Fabio Coentrao. Jesús Vallejo has a lot of future, although Real Madrid might miss the experience of Pepe. And Danilo made a lot of mistakes in right back, but he has no substitute. For all these reasons, Real Madrid might face an eventual problem during this long season in the defense line.
