Julen Lopetegui Reportedly Asks Real Madrid for Transfer Reinforcements Amid Squad Depth Worries

Real Madrid head coach Julen Lopetegui has informed the club's board that in order to progress his side to the next level, they will have to acquire a new central defender and a centre forward.

Reports from AS suggest that as pre-season wore on, the former Spain boss accepted that to compete on all fronts he will need reinforcements throughout the spine of his team.

One issue for Lopetegui is that with Cristiano Ronaldo now in Turin after his much publicised move to Juventus, his only other centre forward options are the ageing Karim Benzema and the inexperienced Borja Mayoral. 

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Defensively, Lopetegui only sees Madrid needing one more centre back, who will most likely act as cover for Varane and Ramos, while the 51-year-old believes Jesus Vallejo needs game time out on loan.

With Florentino Perez already increasing the squad's depth with the signing of Thibaut Courtois from Chelsea for a reported €35m, he could be more than happy to improve his team in whatever fashion Lopetegui desires.

However, the report also reveals the club will only spend reasonable amounts on players and will not overspend.

It is also reported that Lopetegui is not against letting Marcos Llorente leave, following the Spaniard's disappointing pre-season tour, and would like a replacement for Mateo Kovacic, who recently joined Chelsea on a temporary deal for the 2018/19 campaign.

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Real's first test of the season will come on Wednesday night, as they take on the other side of Madrid, Atletico, in the UEFA Super Cup Final. 

Lopetegui and Perez will be confident knowing if they can overcome the hurdle of Wednesday night, they should be very upbeat going into the new La Liga season on Sunday.