By Real Madrid’s exceptional standards the 2018/19 season has been total rubbish so far.
Swift action was taken by sacking Julen Lopetegui as manager following their humiliating 5-1 defeat to league rivals Barcelona in October with Los Blancos in ninth in La Liga at the time.
Interim boss Santiago Solari has slightly steadied the ship with Real now fifth in the table and they are still fighting in the Champions League and Copa del Rey.
However, reports emerged that club president Florentino Perez is looking to bring Jose Mourinho back to the Bernabeu and that could see a number of new signings come in, too.
They’ve already brought in youngster Brahim Diaz from Manchester City in a deal that could be worth up to £22million but there are surely more to come.
So how might the Spanish giants line up next season? Below you can see a possible Real Madrid XI for the 2019/20 season under Jose Mourinho.
Goalkeeper
The no.1 jersey is certainly up for grabs given Thibaut Courtois’ poor form since signing in the summer, while Keylor Navas has recently signed a contract until June 2021.
However, given Mourinho worked with Courtois at Chelsea, the Portuguese could be the one to restore his confidence.
Defence
Two defensive signings could be in the pipeline for Real – Napoli’s £90million-rated Kalidou Koulibaly, as well as Porto’s Eder Militao.
Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing these two players as well but Madrid has more of a pull than the Premier League giants.
If Koulibaly were to sign, he would have to compete with captain Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane but the Senegal international is more than capable of achieving that.
Meanwhile, Militao would have to compete with Dani Carvajal for a place in the starting XI.
Midfield
It’s in Real Madrid’s culture to replace ageing players no matter how good they are – look at Cristiano Ronaldo.
And the same could be happening to Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric at the ripe old age of 33 with Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen reportedly the heir to his midfield throne.
Eriksen is stalling on a new deal at Spurs which could be the perfect opportunity for Real to swoop in.
However, the latest stories claim Spurs would only be willing to let the Dane go for a record transfer fee.
Attack
Given Real’s dismal season, Diaz could get plenty of opportunities to establish himself in the first-team.
And it’s surely just a matter of time before Eden Hazard joins as he has continued to not sign new deals at Chelsea for the best part of a year. This is also a move ex-Blues boss Mourinho would surely be behind.
Karim Benzema has been linked with a move away which could pave the way for Gareth Bale to play as an out-and-out striker.
Real Madrid have struggled to fill the Ronaldo void but Bale is one of the few players in world football capable of getting near his standards.
