17-year-old defender indefinitely promoted to Real Madrid first team by Carlo Ancelotti | OneFootball

Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Real Madrid would be without the services of Dani Carvajal for the remainder of the season. The 32-year-old, who recently finished fourth in the 2024 Ballon d’Or standings, suffered a serious knee injury against Villarreal, and his expected lay-off period is at least 10 months.

On the back of Carvajal’s injury, Real Madrid have evaluated their situation at right-back. Lucas Vazquez will be first-choice going forward, while Eder Militao is also an option that Carlo Ancelotti can utilise when necessary. Furthermore, Jesus Fortea is someone that is also available.

Fortea has been training with the first team in recent weeks, and according to Marca, Ancelotti has now decided to promote the 17-year-old from the U19s – the idea is for him to remain with the senior squad for the rest of the 2024-25 season.

Ancelotti’s decision hints at Real Madrid not signing a right-back in January – it makes sense, given that they want to secure the services of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who would only be available next summer.