Real Madrid set their sights on Arsenal’s talisman as Xabi Alonso looks to shore up defense

Last Updated on 16 September 2025

The kings of free transfers, Real Madrid, are back in the market, hunting for some defensive reinforcement.

The transfer window may have wrapped up only a couple of weeks ago but the real hard work happens during the season for most clubs.

That is when the clubs lay the foundations, do their homework on potential recruitments and allegedly convince players to join them.

Nobody does it better than Real Madrid.

Having signed top talent like Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba on a free, they nearly secured Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer, too, but decided the £8.4m was worth the risk ahead of the Club World Cup.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Los Blancos believe their next target is the ‘Jude Bellingham of centerbacks’.

Arsenal’s 24-year-old superstar, William Saliba, on Real Madrid’s wishlist

Rated as one of the best centerbacks in the world, and definitely among the top few in the Premier League, William Saliba has been central to Arsenal’s defensive solidity.

The French national is a regular in Didier Deschamps squad, too, and now Real Madrid are firming up their interest.

Arsenal, on the other hand, remain confident on securing a contract extension for Saliba but once Real Madrid enter the conversation, it’s hard to convince the player to stay.

Saliba’s contract runs out in the summer of 2027, but if the North London club can’t get him to sign an extension as he enters his final year, it will be pretty much impossible to keep him at the club.

Liverpool suffered the same fate with Trent Alexander-Arnold over the 2024-25 campaign, and Arsenal might be in line for a similar outcome unless they can convince Saliba of their project.

Ibrahima Konate remains on Real Madrid’s radar amid contract standoff at Anfield

They wouldn’t be the most successful club in the world if they didn’t do their due diligence. As a result, Real Madrid have a long list of players they want at the Santiago Bernabeu, and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate is another defender they admire.

Konate was expected to sign a contract last summer, but with his current contract set to expire in the summer of 2026, it looks like Real Madrid’s interest has turned the Frenchman’s head.

The 26-year-old revealed that there was a contract offer from Liverpool, but whether he signs it or not is ‘another conversation’.

More recently, Diariogol reported that Konate has rejected an offer from Liverpool. The publication added that there’s a lot of belief at the Bernabeu that Konate will sign forReal Madrid on a free, at the end of the 2025/26 season.