Amid continued speculation of Real Madrid's plans to sign a new player come January, Carlo Ancelotti provided the club's real winter transfer window strategy.
Ever since Dani Carvajal suffered a season-ending knee injury, rumors circulated about Real Madrid singing a possible replacement at the next available opportunity. Without a backup for Carvajal beyond Lucas Vázquez, the club's growing defender injury crisis raised plenty of alarm bells that Ancelotti attempted to silence in his press conference on Oct. 18.
"I have not asked for new signings in January as last year we managed the situation well," he said. "The same will happen this year."
While Ancelotti did not completely rule out the possibility of signing a new player in January, he reiterated, "Signing a player who will be good for Real Madrid is not easy. At the moment we are not thinking about it."
The Italian manager cited Éder Militão as Vázquez's backup at right-back, meaning Aurélien Tchouaméni would have to play alongside Antonio Rüdiger as a last resort. Ancelotti also revealed David Alaba will "be back with the team soon," giving Los Blancos' backline a huge boost.
Although Real Madrid was linked with Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong, Ancelotti's comments do not come as a surprise. After all, Real Madrid has a history of not making moves in the winter transfer market. Last season, even when Thibault Courtois, David Alaba and Éder Militão all tore their ACLs, the club did not sign a single player in the January window.
Los Blancos went on to win La Liga and the Champions League despite the major injuries and it looks like Ancelotti is confident his team can overcome a similar adversity this year.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Carlo Ancelotti Denies Real Madrid's Interest in a Winter Signing.
