Dani Carvajal's Departure and Real Madrid's Right-Back Dilemma

Dani Carvajal’s long goodbye at Real Madrid is almost over. On Saturday, against Athletic Club, the captain will pull on the white shirt for the last time, closing a chapter that has framed an era at right-back.

His exit cuts deeper than a simple change of name on the teamsheet. Madrid lose a reference point: experience, a snarling winning edge, a voice that carried weight in the dressing room and on the pitch. The kind of presence you only notice fully when it’s gone.

And now there’s a hole on the right flank.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to remain the first-choice right-back, the high-profile piece already in place. But no elite squad survives on one option alone, and the market is tight. Pedro Porro at Tottenham and Diogo Dalot at Manchester United are admired in the offices at Valdebebas, yet those doors look firmly closed for now – price, context, timing. Take your pick.

So the gaze turns inward, to La Fábrica. To two very different answers to the same question.

Fortea – the daring heir

Jesús Fortea has been earmarked for this moment almost since the day he arrived.

Real Madrid broke their long-standing non-aggression pact with Atlético Madrid to snatch him from their academy, a move that said plenty about how highly they rated the then-15-year-old. At Valdebebas, some immediately whispered the comparison: the “natural heir” to Carvajal.

Now 19, 1.75m tall and built for the modern full-back role, Fortea plays with an attacking instinct that jumps off the pitch. He runs, he overlaps, he drives. His football leans forward.

The path, though, has not been as smooth as the early hype suggested. Instead of a fast track to Castilla, he found himself stuck with Real Madrid C longer than expected. When the promotion finally came, he struggled to nail down the position, jostling for space in a squad stacked with talent.

He didn’t sulk. He worked. He forced his way into the side and became a key piece in the Juvenil A team that lifted the UEFA Youth League, a competition that often exposes who is truly ready for the next step.

His strengths are clear: speed, skill, constant attacking intent. His weaknesses are just as obvious: the defensive side of his game still needs polishing at elite level. Inside the club, though, they see him as a big bet on the future, someone worth the patience and the risk. His contract, running until 2029, underlines that belief.

If Madrid want a right-back in the Carvajal mould but with a more aggressive offensive streak, Fortea is the bold choice.

Jiménez – the quiet constant

On the other side of the internal debate stands David Jiménez, the antithesis in style and personality, but not in value.

He joined La Fábrica back in 2013 from Móstoles URJC, a boy who looked up to Álvaro Arbeloa and has grown into the kind of player coaches trust instinctively. At Valdebebas they talk about him with respect: a complete team player, a “silent leader” whose professionalism and attitude set the tone without a single headline.

Step by step, category by category, he climbed the ladder until the captain’s armband at Castilla wrapped around his bicep. No shortcuts, no noise.

His first-team debut arrived on 17 December, in the Copa del Rey against Talavera, under Xabi Alonso. Since then, the 22-year-old has added three more appearances, including a start against Valencia. Each time, he has looked what he is: solid, reliable, unspectacular.

Jiménez rarely makes mistakes. He also rarely grabs the spotlight. The comparison inside the club is telling – he’s spoken of in the same breath as Nacho Fernández, another homegrown defender who built a career on consistency, versatility, and near-flawless decision-making rather than highlight reels.

If Madrid want stability at right-back, a player who will quietly do his job and allow the stars around him to shine, Jiménez is the safe option.

Two paths, one vacancy

Carvajal’s farewell leaves more than an emotional gap. It forces a decision about identity on that right flank.

Do Real Madrid lean into the future with Fortea, the attacking prodigy they once stole from their city rivals and groomed as a potential successor? Or do they reward the steady rise of Jiménez, the captain of Castilla, the defender who already looks like a first-team squad player in waiting?

The transfer market offers its temptations, but the reality is harsh: Porro and Dalot remain out of reach for now, and there is no obvious external signing lined up who ticks every box.

So the choice may come from within. One bold. One safe. Both shaped by La Fábrica.

Soon enough, the white shirt that Carvajal made his own will hang in a different locker. The real question at Valdebebas is simple: whose name will be on the back when next season kicks off?