Despite having signed no less than six players, Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho is still keen on bringing in another centre-back this summer.
The Portuguese coach is concerned the current depth of the Real Madrid defence might not be enough to get them over the line and has set his sights on Alessandro Bastoni.
However, Real Madrid have not made any breakthrough in the Bastoni pursuit, as the club have been unable to offload Raul Asencio.
The Real Madrid defender doesn’t want to leave, which would have otherwise freed the space necessary to sign Bastoni.
Mourinho counting on Mario Rivas
Mario Rivas has made a strong impression. (Photo by David Balogh/Getty Images)
Mourinho, though, has a strong backup option should Real Madrid fail to sign Bastoni by the end of the ongoing transfer window.
As reported by Defensa Central, Mourinho is counting on Mario Rivas to fill the hole in the Real Madrid backline should the club fail to bring in a new defender.
Rivas, along with another youth player in Alex Ciria, have already made a strong impression on Mourinho during the pre-season campaign.
The two players, therefore, will be favoured strongly heading into the new season, even though they might receive regular game-time just yet.
Pecking order of Real Madrid defence
After parting ways with David Alaba in the summer, Real Madrid have roped in Ibrahima Konate.
Is this Rivas’ breakthrough season? (Photo by David Balogh/Getty Images)
Konate joins the likes of Dean Huijsen, Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao as Real Madrid’s main centre-backs.
From the outset, it appears Huijsen will be the main left-sided centre-back for Real Madrid this season, with Rudiger and Konate likely being on rotation until Militao comes back to full fitness.
Apart from these four options, Mourinho will want to have the services of another centre-back at his disposal and that is where Rivas comes into the fray.
The new coach certainly doesn’t consider Raul Asencio a valuable option at centre-back while the highly-talented Joan Martinez is not favoured either.
That leaves Rivas with an excellent opportunity to become Real Madrid’s fifth choice centre-back this season.