Good, young and still affordable. These are the parameters that Real Madrid have been monitoring in the centre-back market since Milita’s serious injury in August, and they will now intensify their monitoring work following Alaba’s cruciate fracture which saw him miss the rest of the season.

As reported by AS, the entity is closely monitoring Gonçal Inàcio, the 22-year-old center back of Sporting Portugal and the Portuguese national team, but he is not the only option. His compatriot Antonio Silva, Benfica’s new 20-year-old pearl, and Giorgio Scalvini, the future azzurra after he came to Atalanta at the age of 20.

According to this newspaper, Inàcio is a candidate that Madrid has studied a lot. His clause is acceptable, although not very cheap, 60 million euros, but the Portuguese Sporting made it clear that they will be flexible in terms of charging that amount.

Defender, one of the new important players of Roberto Martínez in Selected, could go for €45 million outright and another €15 million more in easy-to-fill variable bonuses, so you can pay the transfer in comfortable installments. Manchester United has emerged as a major rival for his signature, but Inàcio has conveyed his desire to give preference to the white team.

Antonio Silva’s football phenotype is similar, but with some nuances. Inàcio is 1.85 meters tall and is left-handed, the preferred profile because the fallen Militao and Alaba are also left-handed, while Silva is a little taller (1.87 meters), but right-handed.

Its market value is in a close range: according to the estimate of Transfermarkt, amounts to 45 million euros. Of course, his clause is much more unaffordable: releasing him in that way means paying 100 million euros. Scalvini, for his part, is a modern central defender at Calcio, and Spalletti made room for him in the Italian team. His 1.94 meters is not an obstacle for him to be deployed in two central position profiles, and his price would not exceed 50 million euros.

The German route is the Ecuadorian Pacho

Reinforcements for the center of defense could not come only from Portugal or Italy. Within tracking from the club to Xabi Alonso’s fine work at Bayer Leverkusen, there is a centre-back who perfectly fills what Madrid are looking for, even if he plays for Eintracht.

The Ecuadorian international Willian Pacho (21 years, 1.87 meters) is also left-handed and stands out in the Frankfurt team, a club that in recent years has a great contract with Madrid (loan of Vallejo, sale of Mascarello …) and it is a selling club. In addition to all that, Eintracht invested 11 million euros in the South American defender, so his price would exceed 40 million euros…

Movement ‘like Kepa’

Madrid will not only think about the acquisition, because the transfer formula is not excluded. As happened with Kep, on a season-long loan so as not to tie the entity’s hands when Courtois recovers, the centre-back could enter via the same route. Turning, unlike Inàcio and company, to a veteran central defender who is a market opportunity, because his contract expires in June or because, as happened with Kep, his situation at his current club is dangerous and both sides see a change in outlook. Many opportunities to study. “We will see it in the coming days,” admitted Juni Calafat, the club’s strong man in terms of transfers and who was on top of Endrick these days during his visit to Madrid, and he has a new job ahead of him. (D)