Lucas Vazquez
The first person to be mentioned is Lucas Vazquez. Although not his preferred position, Vazquez will most likely be Carvajal's replacement in Ancelotti's system. Before 2020, he mainly played as a right winger, but under Zinedine Zidane, the Spanish star began to be used regularly as a right-back. Since then, Vazquez has become an important choice for this position in each season.
Although not the brightest name in the Los Blancos squad, Vazquez is highly appreciated for his fighting spirit and quiet contributions. The 33-year-old player is always ready to help young players and new recruits integrate, and always performs well when needed.
Last season, Vazquez played 1,784 minutes in 38 matches, scoring 3 goals and providing 8 assists. He also made an important contribution to Barcelona's 3-2 win over El Clasico last April, scoring 1 goal and 2 assists, including the decisive goal by Jude Bellingham.
Eder Militao
Another option Ancelotti could consider is Eder Militao. The Brazilian centre-back is no stranger to the full-back position, having played there quite frequently during his time at Sao Paulo and FC Porto. Although he has played in this position for Real Madrid for a number of matches, the results have not been really impressive, especially his unsatisfactory performance in the 1-2 loss to Real Betis in 2020. At that time, Militao was considered to have had the most disappointing match of his career.
In addition, moving Militao to the wing will disrupt the stability of Real Madrid's centre-back pair with Antonio Rudiger. In addition, the 26-year-old defender has also faced some physical problems recently, including an ACL injury last season. Therefore, Ancelotti will prioritize using him cautiously to ensure that the "White Vultures" do not suffer any more losses.
Federico Valverde
Another option Carletto could consider is Federico Valverde. The Uruguayan midfielder has played a few times as a right-back for Real Madrid. The " rear wingers" are a versatile player and often support the defense every time Carvajal attack. However, if Valverde is moved to the defender position, Los Blancos will lose one of the most important players in midfield, especially as his influence has increased after Toni Kroos' retirement decision.
Although Ancelotti has shown flexibility in moving midfielders to defensive positions, such as Aurelien Tchouameni playing as a centre-back or Eduardo Camavinga playing as a left-back, using Valverde as a defender could be a big trade-off.
Young talents from the academy
Real Madrid has always been famous for its strong youth training system, but is there anyone from the academy capable of replacing Carvajal? According to inside sources, there is no name ready to immediately replace the right-back position in the first team.
Lorenzo Aguado, David Jimenez and Jesus Fortea are the three most mentioned names. Of which, Aguado is the leading candidate to participate in regular training with the first team. Jimenez and Fortea are also promising talents, but still need more time to mature.
Additional additions from the transfer market
The question of finding a replacement in the transfer market was also raised. However, Real Madrid do not intend to sign any players immediately, because they have not found a suitable option in the free player market. The Santiago Bernabeu team also often does not make big deals in the winter transfer window because they are always waiting for better opportunities in the summer.
However, it is not ruled out that Real Madrid will change their strategy if the injury situation of the players in the team does not progress as expected. They will wait to see how David Alaba's injury-prone comeback in December.
