Real summer treat: a new defender

Historically, Real Madrid likes to define itself as a cavalier club, where bold attacking soccer is prized above defensive considerations. Under the aegis of conservative coach José Mourinho, this has changed somewhat; nevertheless, it was not the wily Portuguese who inaugurated Real's 21st-century tradition of signing at least one new central defender each summer.

It may be fortunate that the club's latest acquisition, Raphaël Varane, is only 18. The player born in Lille, but who made his Ligue 1 debut with RC Lens, will have time to look around the Spanish capital and hope he gets the odd favorable look from Mourinho on the practice field as Real Madrid already has a wealth of experienced and high-quality performers in the center of its defensive line. Mourinho made it clear last year that the Portuguese duo of Ricardo Carvalho (the coach's talisman player who has followed him around Europe) and Pepe is his preferred combination.If one of these two should falter or sustain injury, the Real coach can fall back on a World-Cup winner in Raúl Albiol. If things get really hairy, another member of the all-conquering Spain team is available to play in the center of defense, Sergio Ramos, whose future surely lies in that position rather than at right back. And Real also has the talented Ezequiel Garay, an Argentinean who has hardly had a look-in since moving from Racing Santander in 2009.

Since 2004, when the legendary Fernando Hierro was shown the door at the Bernabéu, Real has signed a central defender before each new season. The 10-million-euro fee paid to Lens for Varane, who has played 24 matches at the French club, brings the total laid out by Real on central defenders in the past seven years to an extraordinary 175.8 million euros. By selling on the disappointing Walter Samuel and injury-prone Jonathan Woodgate, the club recovered 27 million euros in the same period.

Despite the apparent overbooking in Real's backyard, Lens president Gervais Martel says the player recommended to Mourinho by Real Madrid advisor Zinedine Zidane "is sure to get a place."A player who does seem sure to play for a new club next season is Atlético Madrid goalkeeper David de Gea, who admitted on Tuesday that he is in England this week as a guest of Manchester United in order to assess the offer the Premier League champion has made for his services. It appears to be a matter of time before United convinces the 20-year-old, who last week won the European under-21 title with Spain, to agree to replace Edwin van der Sar after the Dutchman decided to retire at the age of 40.