Do Real Madrid need a summer spending spree?

The current reigning Spanish and European Champions are having a dubious season by their seasons, with many talking about big spending but should they this?

It’s been a terrible season for Real Madrid so far, at least by their lofty standards. Fourth in La Liga and out of the Copa del Rey, the current reigning European and Spanish champions can only now pin their hopes on silverware this season by winning the Champions League, an incredible feat if they could accomplish winning the Champions League for a third time in a row and would be the first to do since the 1970s when Bayern Munich achieved that accomplishment.

Manager Zinedine Zidane’s job is under pressure, a ridiculous notion given what he has accomplished as manager in his two years as manager at the club and there has been talk about the Spanish club potentially going on a huge spending spree this summer to restore the club back up to what they once were – the big names have been linked to the club from the likes of Eden Hazard, Harry Kane, David De Gea, Mauro Icardi and Neymar among others. Many are expecting Madrid to completely revamp the team especially if they do not retain the Champions League once again, whether or not Zidane stays or goes.

But there needs to be a question asked here – do Real Madrid need to go on some huge transfer spending splurge this summer? It might be in their history to do it and nobody would surely bat an eye lid if that is what they did this summer in bringing in huge names to the club. It’s been a long time since Madrid have truly splashed the cash in the transfer market, they haven’t truly bought a ‘Galactico’ signing since James Rodriguez after the World Cup in 2014 for a variety of reasons but one being that Madrid were becoming a club that was focused on the long-term  – investing in young that could step up one day to take over from their superstars.

Madrid’s approach recently in their recruitment has been interesting to watch it play out. They essentially swapped positions with eternal rivals Barcelona, who have been splashing out enormous amounts of money on Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele in the last two transfer windows alone. It might be potentially appealing for Madrid to want to splash out the money on more superstars, refusing to be shown up in the transfer market by Barcelona and with concerns over their teams performances, perhaps it is as good time as ever in their minds to reinvest in the time, to give it a shake-up that it hasn’t had in the last few years.

But is it really necessary? When you look at Real Madrid’s team, it is still a stupendously stacked team in nearly every area of the pitch. The only real area of weakness is the striker position with Karim Benzema having a horrendous season with only three league goals to his name and a growing resentment in the Real Madrid fan base for his lacklustre and often frustrating performances and on the wing where Gareth Bale is.

Bale is a quality player obviously but he has been constantly hampered by injuries throughout his entire time in Spain and it might be time for him to go to another club.

More from Playing for 90

• Alexia Putellas reaches 400 games with Barcelona
• Everything you need to know ahead of the 250th ‘Super Clásico’
• Barcelona put five past Real Betis
• Manchester City suffer but come away with win over West Ham
• Baffling Liga MX ruling strips Puebla of a hard-earned victory

So that is two positions that likely need improvement potentially but it should be remembered that Real Madrid do have Marcos Asensio in their ranks, the phenomenally talented youngster could easily slot right into Madrid’s team and into Gareth Bales position should he leave the club in the following months. Bale’s potential departure shouldn’t be a worry to the team given that they have such a talent in their ranks. So it boils down to needing a striker, which they are in desperate need of right now as they are depending almost entirely on Cristiano Ronaldo to score goals and bail them out of certain situations – Ronaldo’s a fantastic player, one of the best in the world, but he is only one man and one man can’t do everything all the time.

Harry Kane is obviously not going to Real Madrid. He’s spoken time after time about his dedication and commitment to Tottenham, that is only compounded by the fact that the price tag that Tottenham would immediately slap upon his head should any team come in for him that would be absurdly high and likely cost more than Neymar’s world-breaking fee. Icardi is a more realistic situation and possibility Robert Lewandowski as well.

Related Story: How effective is the new manager effect?

All in all though, Real Madrid only need to truly improve upon one position on the pitch – the striker position. They do not need a total revamp of the team, they do not need to do what they did in the summer of 2009 and invest an immense amount of money on a new core to the team. Whilst Madrid do have some players who are getting up there in age, their team is not declining yet in ability and they still boast several world-class players. Madrid would be wise to invest slowly in their team, to continue doing what they are doing to stop any disharmony from going.