It would be unfair to label Real Madrid’s 2022–23 campaign a failure given that the team advanced to the Champions League semifinals, defeated Barcelona 0–4 at Camp Nou, and won the Copa del Rey with comeback victories over Villarreal and Atlético de Madrid. However, the manner in which they lost both La Liga and the Champions League prevents the season from being regarded as a triumph as well.

They were completely outplayed by Manchester City in the Champions League semifinal, which they lost 4-0 (5-1 on aggregate), and they could have lost by much more had Courtois not made crucial stops. Furthermore, once Barcelona increased their advantage over them at the top by 8 points in the middle of the season, they not only lost La Liga to the Blaugranas but it also appeared as though they had given up on it. The worst part is that despite having numerous opportunities to challenge Barcelona for the league title and come back into the title race, they squandered each one, allowing Barcelona to win by a wide majority.

Real Madrid enjoyed a respectable season overall, but the team has great expectations. Simply being “decent” is insufficient. Now that Ancelotti’s future is up for debate, Florentino Perez and his board of directors must decide which players to keep, fire, and add. Already, two significant players are departing for which the team will need to find competent replacements.

Marco Asensio: Despite playing a little role, his contributions to the team’s success with his efforts and goals as a substitute player were essential. For a list of possible substitutions, click here.

Benzema, Karim Few people anticipated this, and it does place the club in a peculiar situation. When Erling Haaland’s buy-out clause kicks in, there are rumors that the leadership is interested in signing him, but what happens then? Not to add that replacing a Ballon d’Or winner and one of the greatest players in club history won’t be simple.

In any case, as they get ready for the team’s season in 2023, the club management has to take a lot of lessons from the 2022/23 campaign.

Each position has two players, especially the striker.

Without a suitable right back to replace him or even pose a challenge to his position, Carvajal suffered yet another subpar season. Initially, it was anticipated that Lvaro Odriozola, who had spent the entire season on loan at Fiorentina, would serve as the team’s starting right defender. Nevertheless, Ancelotti had a different opinion and continued to start Lucas Vázquez ahead of Odriozola despite the fact that he was a right back who had been converted.

On the other hand, Mendy’s injury kept him out for a significant period of the season, forcing Ancelotti to move Camavinga out of his natural position and into a left back. Camavinga performed admirably, but a left back who has switched positions can only manage so much, especially during crucial moments when even the smallest details count. It was just a matter of time before some team would take advantage of his weaknesses, and Manchester City did just that. Fran Garca, an academy product who was sold to Rayo Vallecano with a buy-back clause, will be returning, so it appears the club has taken care of the left back problem. However, Real Madrid cannot endure another season with just one natural right back and must urgently sign another player.

The team should also think about signing a second holding midfielder to compete with Aurélien Tchouaméni and provide more depth there. Although nobody anticipated Tchouaméni to have such a poor season, Ancelotti was forced to play Camavinga and even Kroos in the holding midfield position because there wasn’t any natural holding midfielder to take his place (Casemiro was traded to Manchester United previous season). Even though they did their best, the solution can’t always be to move a player—who is already among the greatest in his position—out of his natural position.

But more crucially, Real Madrid must add two RESPONSIVE strikers; this is necessary not only as a result of Benzema’s departure, but also because the squad cannot continue with just one dependable striker. This season, Benzema’s form considerably declined, he was prone to injury (which cost him the World Cup with France), and the team suffered from the lack of a strong backup.

According to reports from within the club, Joselu may join on a loan from RCD Espanyol for one season, although that would only address one aspect of the problem. Is there a striker of elite caliber available that the club can pursue to replace Benzema? Whatever they choose to do, they cannot start a new campaign with just one consistent forward.

Who are some candidates for each of these positions that Real Madrid might think about signing:

Striker:

Harry Kane: If the manager chooses to play with two up front, his style of play is extremely similar to Benzema’s. Kane is entering the final year of his contract with Tottenham.

Duan Vlahovi: He is Juventus’ most valuable player and a high caliber athlete. The club will be forced to let go of some of its greatest earners as a result of their failure to qualify for the Champions League, but they won’t be able to receive the best price for Vlahovi given his injury-prone season. If so, it could be preferable for them to loan him out for a year so he can return when Juventus is back in the Champions League. Something that might pique Real Madrid’s interest in signing him, especially if the club plans to sign Erling Haaland when his buy-out clause kicks in.

Edin Dzeko: Despite his advanced age, he was instrumental in Inter Milan’s run to the Champions League final and is currently out of contract, therefore he would sign on the open market.

Correct Backs:

Joo Cancelo is without a doubt one of the top right backs in the world and can also play as a left back, despite having his share of problems while at Manchester City.

Benjamin Pavard: He has one year left on his contract with Bayern Munich and would give the team the talent and depth it sorely needs.

defender midfielder:

One of the best holding midfielders in the world, Joshua Kimmich, is reportedly interested in leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the current campaign.

Jean-Emile Hjbjerg He still has years left on his contract, and given the workings of Tottenham’s ownership group, it would be challenging to get him out. He is, however, one of the Premier League’s most underappreciated players and would be the perfect addition to the team. From the midfield, goals Real Madrid needs more midfielders who can threaten to score goals, if there is one thing the squad can learn from Manchester City’s victory against them in the Champions League.

Erling Haaland, who is playing for Manchester City and is perhaps the best striker in the world, has been shattering numerous records in just his first Premier League season. But despite failing to score and missing numerous golden opportunities against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinal, Manchester City nevertheless prevailed 5-1 overall.

Why? Because they have midfielders who can score goals and take over when Haaland is out of form, like Kevin De Bruyne, lkay Gündoan, and Bernardo Silva. They recently won their third consecutive Premier League championship, which has been crucial to their league success.

This season at Real Madrid, Cristiano and Rodrigo have boosted their number of goals, and Asensio has been able to contribute from the bench, partially making up for Benzema’s poor play. However, the club lacks midfielders who can score in crucial situations when the attack is shut down. Valverde is the only Real Madrid midfielder with a goal total above ten, however the most of those goals came before the World Cup, when he was arguably the team’s finest player.

Are Jude Bellingham, Kai Havertz, or Gabri Veiga able to offer assistance with this? Should Brahim Dáz, who is on loan at AC Milan, be brought back? What if they want Bernardo Silva of Manchester City, whose contract year is about to end?

Real Madrid will need to provide answers to these concerns as they get ready for the upcoming season.

Ancelotti, CarloAlthough Ancelotti will always be remembered as a Real Madrid great, the club must carefully examine whether the Italian is the right coach for the team’s needs moving forward. The team may not have won either the Champions League or La Liga, as was already noted, but the issue is not that they did not succeed in either competition. Real Madrid is usually expected to win a championship, but even if they don’t, they still need to try. Something they failed to accomplish in both La Liga and the Champions League, losing to Manchester City 5-1 overall.

The manager of the team moving ahead must be able to make difficult choices; Ancelotti isn’t exactly renowned for doing so. The Italian has a reputation for largely relying on seasoned players, which has benefited him in the past. The team was seriously harmed this season, though, and it almost felt as though the veterans (Kroos Benzema, Modric, etc.) had more influence on the manager than Ancelotti did over the players. In fact, during the entire season, his starting lineups and even substitutions almost seemed to be more predicated on a pecking order than on current form.

Benzema and Modric would play whenever they claimed to be well, regardless of any injury concerns. Carvajal was never replaced by Nacho by Ancelotti, despite the fact that Carvajal’s form was subpar for the majority of the season. Nacho even performed admirably as a left back before Ancelotti substituted Camavinga for him on the field. In the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, Rudiger did a great job of containing Erling Haaland, but after serving his ban in the second game, Rudiger was replaced by Éder Militio.

Not to mention that Aurélien Tchouaméni’s poor form prevented the squad from fielding a natural holding midfielder for the latter stages of the Champions League. After the World Cup, where he missed a critical penalty in France’s loss to Argentina in the tournament’s final, Tchouaméni, who had started out brightly, was never the same. While Tchouaméni should take responsibility for his poor performances, there is also a case to be made that Ancelotti didn’t do enough to instill Tchouaméni with the confidence he needed to perform at his best during the crucial portion of the season.

Much will also depend on the objectives of the hierarchy for this team. It would probably be best to let some of those veterans leave when their contracts expire after this season if the club really wants Ancelotti to stay but also wants the young players on the team to play a bigger role. That would simplify things for Ancelotti and enable him to make choices without having to consider how they would go over with the seasoned players. Ancelotti is definitely not the best choice for Real Madrid to hire as their manager for the upcoming campaign if they decide to keep the team’s seasoned players while still wanting the manager to prioritize developing young talent and bringing in more players from the academy.