Goli Innocent 
Matthijs de Ligt, the top central defender from the previous campaign, may be the odd man out as Bayern Munich coach, Thomas Tuchel appears to have settled on a center-back pair of Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae.
De Ligt may get the opportunity to impress Tuchel as Min-Jae will be departing for international duty in January.
If that does not happen, Real Madrid could be willing to give De Ligt a primetime spot in its lineup per Spanish outlet Defense Central.
Interestingly, Real Madrid could be ready to move on De Ligt as soon as January and could even be willing to work in a swap of Aurélien Tchouaméni or Antonio Rüdiger to push the deal through, though that does seem like a real longshot:
Real Madrid is a club that never rests, which explains why the Madrid entity is always in the eye of the hurricane, especially at the gates of a transfer market that will be more necessary than ever.
For their part, Florentino Pérez and Carlo Ancelotti, supported by Juni Calafat, continue working on the possibility of signing a central defender.
This option is something that Florentino Pérez and José Ángel Sánchez are already working on, who are evaluating the different options in the winter pass market.
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There are many names that Real Madrid has on its list of possible reinforcements, followed by Juni Calafat or offered by many agents looking to take advantage of this moment.
However, the central defender who is sounding very strong, in addition to Raphaël Varane, is Matthijs de Ligt, who is not having a good time this season with Thomas Tuchel on the Bavarian giant’s bench.
Bayern Munich is ready to release the Dutch defender, either in January or, especially, in June, for a figure close to 60 million euros.
For this reason, German sports officials would be willing to give the Netherlands centre-back to Real Madrid in exchange for Antonio Rüdiger or Aurélien Tchouaméni, the two players desired by Thomas Tuchel, although the Meringues will hardly be willing to part with either of them.
Tchouaméni is highly valued by Real Madrid, so that seems a bit unlikely, but Rüdiger could potentially be a player, who might interest Tuchel.
Regardless, De Ligt was considered by many to be Bayern Munich’s top centre-back for the 2022/23 season, yet has been felled by injuries and the sceptical eye of Tuchel this season.
The Dutchman is still young (24), talented, and a natural leader. Cutting ties with that type of player on a whim in January could prove to be foolish for the Bavarians.
For the summer, though, Tuchel could be seeking to reshape the roster in his vision. Knowing that De Ligt will likely bring back a hefty transfer fee, selling the Netherlands international could go a long way in helping the manager get the players that he wants to work with moving forward.
