Real Madrid's Defensive Challenges: Asencio's Return and Transfer Dilemma

Real Madrid opened their 2026-27 league campaign against Espanyol with a defence held together by tape and trust. Jose Mourinho went into the game with only two senior centre-backs available and chose to start Ibrahima Konate alongside Dean Huijsen, leaving Antonio Rudiger on the bench.

Next to him sat Mario Rivas, a La Fabrica centre-back drafted in as emergency cover. The reason was clear: both Eder Militao and Raul Asencio were unavailable.

Asencio’s Situation

Asencio’s case is the most delicate. Told earlier in the summer that he was not part of Mourinho’s plans for the new season, the defender seemed destined for the exit. Then came a training-ground injury in July that stalled everything. What looked like a straightforward departure suddenly became a rehabilitation timetable, with initial forecasts ruling him out until September.

That schedule has shifted.

According to Diario AS, Asencio is already back in training with Real Madrid and is expected to rejoin full group sessions later this week. If that progression holds, he should be in contention for a place in the matchday squad for next weekend’s clash with Malaga.

Importance of Asencio’s Return

For Mourinho, the timing is close to perfect. Madrid face three matches in eight days, a demanding run that tests even the deepest squads. Konate and Rudiger are too valuable to be run into the ground so early in the season, and the risk of a muscular setback is not something the Portuguese coach tends to gamble with. That is where Asencio’s return becomes crucial: a fit, match-ready academy graduate on Sunday against Malaga would ease the strain on a thin defensive unit.

Yet his comeback also reopens a question that had been parked by injury.

Asencio’s accelerated return nudges the door back open on a potential transfer before the summer window shuts on Monday. The club’s stance has been clear for weeks: he is not central to Mourinho’s long-term plans. The player’s position, though, has been just as firm. He has shown no desire to listen to offers and has no intention, for now, of walking away from the Bernabeu.

That could change. Regular minutes, or the lack of them, tend to clarify careers quickly. If Asencio steps back into the squad only to find himself on the margins, he may be forced to confront a reality he has so far resisted: Mourinho does not see him as a prominent piece in this project.

For the moment, his future hangs between opportunity and exit, with a crowded eight-day stretch and a closing transfer window ready to tip the balance.