Liverpool, Real Madrid Target Signs New Contract to End Transfer Speculation

Both clubs are short on central defenders ahead of next season.

Both teams need defensive recruitment this coming summer. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Liverpool and Real Madrid both must look to targets beyond Dayot Upamecano to strengthen defensively this summer, after the France international signed a new contract with Bayern Munich.

Upamecano had entered the last six months of his previous Bayern deal, leading the German champions to issue an alleged ultimatum once negotiations had stalled over details. That appears to have been successful, with the player committing for four more years until 2030.

Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund described Upamecano as the “complete package” to underline just why there was rival interest in securing his services as a free agent.

Liverpool and Real Madrid each require a defensive rebuild and the potential opportunity to sign Upamecano without a transfer fee was considerable.

The Premier League champions have to start seriously thinking about succession planning for Virgil van Dijk, who will celebrate his 35th birthday in July. There remains uncertainty about Ibrahima Konaté’s future due to his own expiring contract, with Joe Gomez not consistently fit. Teenager Giovanni Leoni, sidelined until next season through injury anyway, is the only other central defender.

Even if Konaté stays, Liverpool cannot reasonably afford not to recruit at the back.

Los Blancos are in a similar position. Antonio Rüdiger is out of contract this year and increasingly injury prone. David Alaba, who has struggled with fitness ever since tearing the ACL in his left knee in 2023, is nearing the end of his deal. Éder Militão has also had another injury-hit season.

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Which Centre Backs Can Liverpool, Real Madrid Sign in 2026?

Nico Schlotterbeck ticks a few different boxes. | Hendrik Deckers/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images

As both clubs look to the market, they are likely to be interested in many of the same players.

Marc Guéhi almost joined Liverpool last September and was heavily linked with Real Madrid, too, until Manchester City moved quickly to take him off the table last month.

If Konaté—a “world-class centre back” according to Van Dijk—does leave Liverpool and enter free agency, he would instantly be an option for Madrid. Speculation about the Frenchman heading to the Bernabéu had died down after a poor start to 2025–26, but he is now rediscovering that form of old.

Nico Schlotterbeck and Castello Lukeba are two alternatives from the Bundesliga. Schlotterbeck, in particular, has a contract that will have just a year left to run come the end of this season, while the Borussia Dortmund vice-captain, at 26, is more experienced and proven that Lukeba, 23.

Joel Ordóñez would be the long-term development project. The highly rated 21-year-old is a graduate of the same Ecuadorian club—Independiente del Valle—that produced leading defenders Piero Hincapié and Willian Pacho, as well Chelsea midfielder Moisés Caicedo. But he’s currently playing for Club Brugge in Belgium and it would represent a massive step up.

Joel Ordóñez isn’t ready made but could become a star. | KURT DESPLENTER/BELGA MAG/AFP/Getty Images

Micky van de Ven is one to keep an eye on, too. The 24-year-old Dutchman appears to have put last season’s injury problems behind him and, as a supremely talented athlete, is perhaps as good as any centre back in the Premier League when fully fit. Tottenham Hotspur’s demise, which could even go as far as a shock relegation, might also help push him towards the exit.

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