Two Real Madrid stars will battle for a starting place this season | OneFootball

Two members of the defensive ranks at La Liga giants Real Madrid will be forced to fight it out for a place in the first-choice XI of manager Xabi Alonso this coming season.

That’s according to Blancos journalist Álvaro Esteban, who points towards Antonio Rüdiger and Éder Militão as the pair in question.

Real Madrid have of course reinforced the heart of the club’s backline this summer, by way of the signing of Spanish international Dean Huijsen.

Despite his tender years, Huijsen is expected to slot straight in as a starter for the 2025/26 campaign.

This will leave one spot (or potentially two, depending on the system utilised by Xabi Alonso) up for grabs alongside the 20-year-old.

And whilst, initially, Antonio Rüdiger is expected to take ownership of as much, the German will before long need to battle to maintain his status as a starter.

As per a report from the aforementioned Álvaro Esteban:

‘Militão is one of the best pieces of pre-season news. Xabi’s plan is to start Huijsen and Rüdiger, but when Militão regains fitness, he’ll fight for the spot with Rüdiger, who is 32 and has knee problems.’

Conor Laird – GSFN