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Vince Lombardi says "Football is a game of inches and inches make the champion". However, when it comes to Real Madrid, being a champion is not enough. Santiago Bernabéu craves Galácticos and who better to lead the Galácticos 2.0 campaign than the Zinedine Zidane, the man won three consecutive UEFA Champions Leagues. After a horrendous end to the 2018-2019 season, Madrid has already spent heavily in the transfer market and expected to splash some more money in the coming days.
Here is just an insight into how Real Madrid might line up next season.
Defense
Thibaut Courtois is expected to keep his place in goal despite going through a mediocre first season. The right-back position is pretty much sealed by Dani Carvajal. Porto's Éder Militão's arrival adds a new dimension to Madrid's defense. He is flexible enough to play on right as well as the center of defense and can be groomed as a long term successor for Serio Ramos. Taking his raw qualities into considerations, he's unlikely to be included in the first team for the next season and would most probably be a deputy for Ramos and Varane.
For ages, Marcelo has been deployed at the left side of the defense for the Spanish giants. However, it turns out age has finally caught up with him and the same was very apparent last season as he was dropped on merit by Santiago Solari. While Zidane's arrival may be a sigh of relief for him, he might still have to serve as deputy for the newly arriving Ferland Mendy.
Midfield
Zidane had always favoured a midfield of Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, and Isco during his last stint and is likely to continue with a similar combination. However, Modric's drastic drop in performance last season has prompted Zidance to look for reinforcements and it has been reported that Paul Pogba of Manchester United is identified as a prime transfer target by Zidane. Should the Red Devil star join his countryman this summer, it might indicate the end of the Ballon d'Or winner's career at Madrid.
Christian Eriksen of Spurs, was also a viable target in the midfield after expressing his wish to try out another challenge, but the deal seems off currently as Zidane seems to prefer his compatriot Pogba at Los Blancos.
Forward
It is no secret that the lack of goals was the prime reason for Real Madrid's dismal performance last season. The forwards were simply unable to fill the void left by and the same was evident as Madrid scored 63 goals in La Liga last season as opposed to the 93 goals of the 2017-2018 campaign.
Despite being the club's top scorer last season Karim Benzema might find himself on the bench this season. Zidane has always had a liking for Benzema, but Luka Jovic's arrival after his sublime performances last season should hand him the upper hand over the Frenchman. Hazard is the marquee signing of the season and his inclusion at left wing is a no brainer.
With Bale's time at Madrid coming to an end, Vinícius Júnior and Marco Asensio will fight for the right wing position. The latter might edge ahead as a first choice as Vinícius is really young and prefers to play on the left. However, both could be dropped to the bench if Pogba arrives in the summer and Zidane prefers to go ahead with a 4 man midfield.
So, as things stand currently, following can be the Real Madrid's starting XI for next season.
