Carlo Ancelotti names 3 Real Madrid stars as ‘ready to help’ in case of defensive crisis | OneFootball

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti was on Friday drawn on the situation at the heart of the club’s backline once more.

The subject of the centre-back options at Ancelotti’s disposal has of course long positioned itself front and centre in the headlines in Spain’s capital.

This comes with David Alaba still sidelined long-term, Nacho having opted to move on, and youngster Joan Martínez fresh off a serious knee injury of his own.

Calls, in turn, have long been mounting across Real Madrid’s fanbase, for the club’s board to sanction a late-window signing.

But to date, the response stemming from the Santiago Bernabéu has been an unwavering one – ‘We do not need another central defender’.

Just over a week out from the transfer window slamming shut, though, it nevertheless came as little surprise when the same subject was put to the aforementioned Carlo Ancelotti, yet again.

And the Italian’s response, as expected, remained the same:

“Sign a centre-back? Our market is closed. No.”

Pressed further on whether he considers heading into the campaign with so few natural central defensive options under his watch as ‘risky’, Ancelotti added:

“We have good players. (Raúl) Ascensio, Jacobo (Ramón) and (Aurélien) Tchouaméni can help.”

Conor Laird | GSFN