TA Analyzes Mourinho's Madrid Future: Defense and midfield need reinforcements

According to The Athletic, after Mourinho's return to Real Madrid, this summer he may strengthen the defense and midfield.

At the beginning of this year, few people would have thought that Jose Mourinho would make a dramatic return to Real Madrid.

After a frustrating season, Real Madrid gave two former players the chance to coach the first team. Now, club president Florentino has chosen to bring back an iconic but controversial former coach, hoping he will pick up the pieces.

As usual, Mourinho returned to Madrid after 13 years. His last stint as Real Madrid coach ended ignominiously, and this return has also divided opinion.

In the eyes of some, the 63-year-old Portuguese coach's tactics are outdated, and his straightforward management style creates more problems than it solves. Others, including Florentino, believe that Mourinho will bring experience and drive a cultural rebuilding based on discipline and defensive solidity, which is precisely what Real Madrid's star-studded squad desperately needs.

In any case, Mourinho will want to use this summer to rebuild the squad, as Real Madrid has many weaknesses that need to be addressed.

In defense, departing captain Dani Carvajal needs a replacement, while Arnold has only played about 39% of available time this season due to persistent injuries.

At center-back, Militao and Rüdiger's attendance has also been inconsistent, leaving 21-year-old Huijsen without consistent support in his debut season at the Bernabéu.

In midfield, there are concerns that Tchouameni and Camavinga struggle to dictate the tempo in games where Real Madrid controls possession. This issue is even more pronounced given the recent departures of two generational tempo-setters, Kroos and Modric.

Here, The Athletic analyzes what type of players Mourinho might target, and why.

Despite the obvious problems, Mourinho will still have plenty of resources at his disposal after arriving in the Spanish capital.

With Mbappe, he can rely on one of the world's most clinical and efficient strikers to execute the kind of fast-paced, all-encompassing attacks that were familiar during his previous spell at Real Madrid. Bellingham and Valverde are versatile players who can be molded into the committed, proactive midfielders his system requires.

More urgently, the Portuguese needs to fix Real Madrid's chaotic off-the-ball defensive approach. Real Madrid's passive 4-4-2 defensive system was exposed again by Barcelona earlier this month, as the team lost 0-2 in El Clásico, a match that also helped the Catalan side secure the La Liga title.

From the relevant footage, it can be seen that Arbeloa's team gave Pedri too much midfield space at the Camp Nou, and a moment's hesitation allowed Barcelona to extensively attack the area between the lines.

Both Tchouameni and Arnold were pointing to open players ahead, but neither had enough tactical authority or defensive confidence to press forward. The first line of pressure was too easily broken, forcing Real Madrid to retreat, allowing Pedri to carry the ball forward and create opportunities for Rashford on the wing.

Mourinho will set clearer instructions, demanding players to be more authoritative and aggressive in their pressing. He did not shy away from man-marking at Benfica, and although the team finished third, they remained unbeaten for the season, conceding only 25 goals in 34 games.

If Tchouameni pushes forward in the aforementioned example, Mourinho would require a proactive center-back to follow up and cover behind him, a player who can comfortably track running players into the midfield area.

Given Real Madrid's lack of depth in this position, and the fact that they must dominate possession against lower-ranked teams, it would be an added bonus if this athletic center-back is also left-footed and capable of delivering incisive passes from the back.

Borussia Dortmund's Schlotterbeck fits this profile. He is an experienced ball-playing center-back with over 175 Bundesliga and 39 Champions League appearances, known for his ability to carry the ball forward. No center-back in Europe's top five leagues has completed more long passes than him this season, and he also likes to deliver quick, disguised passes into midfield.

His player role data shows that the 26-year-old Schlotterbeck can push the team forward as a whole and defend high up the pitch. He recently extended his contract with Dortmund, but it wouldn't hurt Real Madrid to inquire.

Inter's Bastoni is also a good stylistic fit, though Barcelona had previously considered the 27-year-old as a defensive reinforcement. Like Schlotterbeck, he is comfortable pressing high into midfield to track running players. Few left-footed center-backs in Europe's top five leagues can compare to him in terms of ball-playing quality, and this past season he delivered more crosses and created more chances than any other player in his position.

A potentially cheaper alternative could have been Senesi, who was the defender with the most passes into the attacking third in Europe last season. He played in an aggressive man-marking system under Iraola at Bournemouth. However, The Athletic reported on Friday that the Argentine defender will join Tottenham after his contract expires this summer.

Any candidate to provide support at right-back for Arnold should possess sustained running and intensity. This player must be willing to press high and man-mark, while also supporting the attack by playing high on the wing against weaker teams.

The Athletic's player similarity tool shows that another Dortmund defender, right-back Ryerson, is a strong candidate to replace Carvajal. He provided 15 assists last season, trailing only Bayern winger Olise in the Bundesliga. He frequently pushed forward, linked up with Brandt, and delivered crosses from the flank to find Guirassy.

While the 28-year-old Norwegian would likely need to take on more defensive duties in Mourinho's 4-4-2 system, his statistics highlight his combativeness and dynamism off the ball. He is a full-back who can bring tenacity to Real Madrid throughout the season and offer attacking threat comparable to Arnold.

An easier and La Liga-experienced option is Balliu of Rayo Vallecano. The 27-year-old Romanian right-back has been a consistent attacking outlet in Íñigo Pérez's high-intensity team, and is a physically outstanding player. He has completed more dribbles and created more chances than any other full-back in La Liga.

Regardless of who Real Madrid brings in for the backline, the combination of defensive resilience and attacking capability will help Mourinho more easily instill his philosophy of combativeness and counter-attacking.

Further up the pitch, Real Madrid is well-stocked physically, with Bellingham, Valverde, and Camavinga all capable of playing demanding box-to-box midfield roles.

Their performances in more open transition-based games will give Mourinho hope. In particular, the 3-0 away win against Athletic Bilbao last December, where Real Madrid's box midfield and two-striker formation effectively covered the pitch and allowed the team to maintain the initiative.

However, it is clear that in more stagnant games, Real Madrid lacks a tempo-setting midfielder. Such a player needs to orchestrate the game during possession phases, control the flow of attack, and break down low blocks with short, quick organizational passes and incisive forward passes, much like Kroos or Modric.

Xavi Alonso had attempted to play Güler in a deeper role, and the 21-year-old Turkish international performed well in that position. Tchouameni also possesses composure on the ball and excellent long-range passing ability, and could fulfill this function. However, both are often exposed defensively, struggling to track runners and press effectively in busy central midfield roles.

If Mourinho can protect these defensive weaknesses by having Bellingham and Valverde provide more aggression alongside them, then Güler and Tchouameni are not incapable of playing as deep-lying playmakers. However, the new coach might look for a player with skills similar to Modric's, someone who is both press-resistant and creative in possession, and quick-thinking and defensively focused out of possession, just as Modric was able to do in his final year at Real Madrid in the 2024-25 season.

The Athletic's player role analysis picked Stiller of Stuttgart as a suitable alternative. He is a deep-lying midfielder who excels at progressing the ball forward with probing passes. The 25-year-old Stiller completed over 19% of his team's progressive passes this season, ranking seventh among European midfielders. This indicates his comfort in handling a large volume of possession and orchestrating the team's attack.

Aleix García also has a wide passing range in possession. He is a diligent midfielder, adept at set-piece delivery and curling crosses. When Girona surprisingly finished third in La Liga in the 2022-23 season, he was arguably one of the best players in the league that season. At the time, he could even compete with Kroos in terms of long diagonal passes into the attacking third, and he was in excellent form for Leverkusen at the end of this season.

Atalanta's Éderson is also an attractive option. The 26-year-old reads the game well, doesn't shy away from tackles, and can intelligently retain possession with short passes and delicate touches in midfield. He is the type of versatile supporting midfielder who can help teammates perform subtly. However, Manchester United has been monitoring him since last summer.

In recent seasons, Real Madrid has also been increasingly linked with Manchester City's Ballon d'Or midfielder Rodri, especially after the Spanish international stated in March that a potential move to Real Madrid was an opportunity he "could not refuse." Rodri is now 29, and there are concerns about his recovery after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last year, but he would undoubtedly be the type of iconic signing Florentino loves to make.

Real Madrid doesn't necessarily have a goal-scoring problem.

Mbappe has performed exceptionally well in front of goal since joining from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024. He scored 55 league goals in two seasons in Spain, but Real Madrid's attack as a whole is still not fluid enough.

The problem lies in the balance of the front line. Mbappe tends to drift to the left flank, which is Vinicius' operating area, leading to the two sometimes crowding each other in a skewed attacking structure.

43% of Real Madrid's attacking touches come from the left third of the pitch, and no La Liga team relies more on a single flank. Coupled with Mbappe and Vinicius' limited defensive contributions, there's reason to believe that when both are on the field, the team as a whole struggles to function effectively.

Although Mourinho is seen as a defensive-minded coach, his previous spell at Real Madrid saw him lead the team to one of their best attacking seasons in club history. In the 2011-12 season, Real Madrid amassed 100 points and scored 121 goals, which remains a La Liga record (Barcelona equaled the 100 points in a subsequent season). Real Madrid also dethroned Guardiola's peak Barcelona in the process.

Cristiano Ronaldo was a key member of that attacking unit, scoring 46 league goals that season. In his career, he only scored more league goals in a single season once, with 48 in 2014-15. Mourinho's team dynamics allowed Ronaldo to thrive in attack, which will make Real Madrid believe he might be able to design a similar plan for Mbappe.

Does this mean Real Madrid would unexpectedly discard Vinicius to regain lost balance? This would be a major decision for the club, but forcibly pairing the Brazilian forward with Mbappe and missing out on major trophies for two consecutive seasons already suggests that the situation cannot continue as it is.

If Real Madrid only had one central attacking fulcrum, balance might be restored. Pavlidis played as a traditional striker during Mourinho's time at Benfica. 21-year-old Gonzalo García could also rise in a similar fashion, although The Athletic reported that the academy graduate is not in Real Madrid's plans for next season.

That leaves the right wing. Real Madrid has rotated Güler, Mastantuono, Brahim Díaz, Valverde, and Rodrygo in the past, hoping they would complement the other stars.

Rodrygo's selflessness has seen him play on the right wing for much of his Real Madrid career, despite preferring the left. In any case, the 25-year-old Brazilian international will be out for the foreseeable future with a serious knee injury, and Real Madrid needs a left-footed right-winger to provide better attacking balance.

Brahim Díaz, Güler, and Mastantuono all possess left-footed flair, but all three are more creators who receive the ball to feet and are more likely to cut inside than hug the touchline.

Nico Paz can also be described this way, his technical characteristics are closer to an attacking midfielder than a pure winger. Real Madrid still retains a buy-back option for the 21-year-old, who has performed well after being sold to Como in 2024.

Brazilian international Endrick performed exceptionally during his loan spell at Lyon in the second half of this season. While nominally considered a striker, his player data suggests that the 19-year-old often operates as a right winger. His creativity and dribbling skills could bring a different dynamic to Real Madrid's attack next season.

If Endrick is seen more as a goal-scoring winger on the right, then many of Mourinho's attacking solutions might already be within the squad.

If these forwards are paired with a significantly overlapping left-back, and a fully fit Arnold capable of delivering precise crosses from the right-back position, then there are indications that Real Madrid's squad rebuilding might be better achieved through subtle personnel adjustments.

Mourinho's task will be to find the tactical balance that allows all these players to thrive and operate as a coherent unit both in and out of possession.

He proved he could do that exceptionally well in his last spell in Spain. More than a decade later, it remains to be seen if he can do it again.