Sergio Ramos and Real Madrid are gradually approaching the end of their long-term union. And as difficult as it sounds, the former Sevilla defender won’t be in the backline of Los Merengues forever.
While the World Cup winner and four times Champions League winner is almost irreplaceable at the Santiago Bernabeu. Just like the era of Fernando Hierro and every Real Madrid legend, there is certainly a need for someone to take up the mantle of coordinating the defense and most importantly the leadership aspect of the locker room.
After joining Real Madrid from Sevilla in the summer of 2005 for €27 million as a young defender and the most expensive Spanish defender at that time, deciding to take the bold step in his career is heading to Madrid.
Sergio Ramos has served the White Angels painstakingly delivering mouthwatering performances in his illustrious career for Los Blancos in terms of leadership, and bailing out the team in difficult moments.
As we approach the January transfer window and there still no sign of Ramos penning a new contract at Real Madrid, despite his contract expiring this season. Given that we are talking about one of the best center-backs in the world, the options are quite limited.
Here are the top 5 defenders currently in top form who could replace Sergio Ramos.
- David Alaba – (Bayern Munich)
The Austrian has been a very loyal servant for the Bavarian giant for many seasons, but his contract would also expire at the end of the campaign, which makes him a subject of transfer discussion to another club.
The left-back cum utility player could move to the Bernabeu before captain fantastic leaves, following a lot of reports linking him to Madrid and perhaps he could play beside him next season.
Alaba may have been around for many seasons, and perhaps looks like a player who has past his prime. However, the fact is the Austrian is still 28 years old and still has four or five years in him playing top-flight football. Even at his age, he has developed himself into one of the most consistent players, playing as a central defender in Europe.
His consistency and transformation in terms of how he featured for the Bavarian giant were evident in the 2019-20 season where he featured mostly as a centre defender, displaying impeccable speed off and on the ball, as they went on to win a treble.
If Alaba joins for free in January or summer, he’s definitely going to be an immense upgrade in the defense of Los Merengues.
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- Pau Torres – (Villarreal)
The Spaniard and Yellow Submarine center defender has proved to be one of the consistent players for Villarreal in the last couple of seasons. Lopez also started each of La Rojas’s final two Nations League games alongside Los Merengues captain, proving himself to be one of the players Luis Enrique could rely on going forward.
With Torres’s display of top-notch performances in LaLiga for the Yellow Submarine, should Real Madrid looks in his direction as the right candidate to step in the shoes of Ramos, he won’t found it difficult to blend in with the team having understood and play in LaLiga for some couple of seasons now.
Every professional footballer always wants to don the white jersey of Los Blancos, for Torres he would want that opportunity and prove himself at the Bernabeu.
However, getting him won’t come quite easy for Madrid, having signed a new contract extension with Villarreal in 2019 to keep him at the club till 2024. His release clause has skyrocketed to €65 million, but if there’s any club that could break the bank to get any player then it’s Real Madrid.
- Dayot Upamecano – (RB Leipzig)
Upamecano may not be as impeccable as Sergio Ramos in terms of leadership skill and goalscoring ability. However, when talking about one of the most consistent, talked about, or sought-after defender in the last two to three seasons, then the Frenchman is definitely high up there following his phenomenal performances for Leipzig in the Bundesliga and European competition.
A lot of elite clubs in Europe’s top-flight has been linked with the Frenchman, amongst them are Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City.
Should he continue to turn up impressive performances and stay consistent, it is expected that Los Blancos would likely look towards his direction as a potential replacement for Sergio Ramos.
The 22-year-old has something in common with the Spaniard, he’s fast, strong, aggressive, dominant in the box, and confident on the ball as well. With him and a potential pairing with Varane, then we should expect a deadly combination of two French center backs.
Upamecano can also play as a sweeper, which he often does for Leipzig while attacking, and distributing passes, and build-up play. At his age he’s a decent candidate, who could slot in well for Ramos should he exit Real Madrid.
And with the fact that he’s one of the world’s best young defenders around, it would be quite interesting to see him don the white jersey of Los Blancos and he’s going to be a massive addition given the leadership quality he possesses.
- Milan Skriniar – (Inter Milan)
The Slovakian has been the subject of interest of several top clubs in Europe for many years now, even Barcelona who has been trying hard to find a proper replacement for Gerrard Pique has also been on his case in other to strengthen their backline.
Since Skriniar joined the Nerazzurri in 2017 from Sampdoria he has grown in lips and bound for Antonio Conte’s side.
The Slovakian is just 25 years old, and at that age, he’s definitely at the peak of his career. Should the Real Madrid hierarchy decides to go for him, the former Sampdoria defender won’t come cheap having been one of the best defenders in Seria A, as such Los Blancos should be ready to cough out around €50 to €60 million.
What Real Madrid would enjoy from the Slovakian is his impeccable passing of the ball, dominant skill in the box, and ability to lead the line. He’s one of the decent and potential defenders that could deputize for Sergio Ramos in a long term for Real Madrid.
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- Jesus Vallejo – (Granada)
When Real Madrid paid €6 million for the signature of Vallejo at the age of 18, he seems to be the next big thing for Los Blanco’s defense.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t hold it with the first team at that age, he was loaned out to Real Zaragoza the same team Los Merengues got him from.
As time goes by, he had stints in Germany with Eintracht Frankfurt where he showed a glimpse of greatness. He also had a stint in England with Wolverhampton under Nuno Espirito Santo, where he departed midway through the 2019-20 season having found playing time hard to come by.
At 23, Vallejo is playing absolutely well for Granada following his departure from Wolverhampton, and with consistent performances for ‘El Grana’, he might be going back to the Santiago Bernabeu to fulfill his dream of playing regularly for Los Merengues.
Most especially with the kind of form Granada showed at the early stage of the season, which made them sat comfortably at the mid-table, could be one of the reasons Madrid would look at bringing him back to the club.
El Grana still very present in the Europa League and Vallejo’s presence in the team would project him well to the world on the big stage. With that Real Madrid would follow him closely, snap him up and he could probably go on to be the next heir to the captain, and legend of the club.
Conclusion
All of the players mentioned here are nothing but hypotheses, that doesn’t mean some of them are not been monitored by Real Madrid, more reason why speculation is fun in football. But in the end, we would see the player that would eventually be the heir to Sergio Ramos.
