Spanish Debate: Real Madrid's Costly Repair Bill

NOTE: Hours after publication it emerged that Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is in fact on the verge of arrival at the Bernabeu.

Having lost again at the weekend, this time to scrappy neighbours Getafe, Real Madrid are seven points off the pace at the top of the Liga, and they are in desperate need of reinforcement.

Much of this, it is true, is down to an injury crisis so severe that the treatment room at Valdebebas must look like something out of the Crimean War.

But there is no Florence Nightengale figure to apply the miracle cure. Instead there is that time-honoured panacea so often deployed in the Spanish capital: a hefty sack of money.

No Quick Fix

For it is said that two signings of calibre are to arrive in a January transfer window that will turn Madrid's season well and truly around.

Ramon Calderon and Pedja Mijatovic, like Batman and Robin, have swooped down to ensure that the city will once again be safe thanks to their influence, putting quite aside the fact that, well, had they strengthened the forward line in summer instead of making a ludicrous, last-ditch attempt for David Villa that was never going to succeed on the last day of the window, they might not be in this mess. Yes, there is an injury crisis, but quite frankly if you start a season with two first-choice strikers on the wrong side of thirty with one man on the bench to replace them then you're asking for trouble.

Now Madrid find themselves in the absurd situation that the self-declared saviours who will sign the cheques that save the season are, er, the very same guys who conducted a wild goose chase for Ronaldo in summer instead of building a suitable squad.

The agents of Europe will know this, of course, and no doubt they'll be sliding an extra couple of beads on their abacuses (abacii?) when they hear that it's Madrid on the phone, as opposed to a slightly more prudent club.

Young Ones

In any case the shopping list appears to have been set. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is apparently at the top of the agenda, and given his exemplary goalscoring record in Holland - not to mention his eligibility for the Champions League - his is a name that makes sense.

Yet with all due respect to the Dutch, the Eredivisie is not the Liga, and it is a certainty that Klaas-Jan will find defences in Iberia a good bit tougher than most of those at home.

In this we can find the downside to what president Ramon Calderon said recently. The big chief said that Madrid would turn their season around by purchasing "two Higuains" in January, a reference to current on-form forward Gonzalo Higuain, who arrived in winter 2006/07 from River Plate.

Ready For Action?

It would be churlish to suggest that the young attacker was not a worthwhile signing, given his excellent form so far this season, but here's the thing: he was not an instant success. While he enjoyed a fine debut against Zaragoza he didn't open his goalscoring account for over a month after that match. Plus, having come from a league that, while strong, wasn't quite up to Liga standards, he had some settling in to do.

Could this be the case with Huntelaar? Sure, he's not as young as the then-teenage Franco-Argentine, but he still has some adjusting needing done. If Madrid expect two signings to immediately turn their season around then they don't need two Higuains of winter 2007; they need two Higuains of today, ready for action. (Speaking of which, Huntelaar is currently injured, and while he's expected to be fit by the time he arrives at the Bernabeu this won't do his match sharpness much good.)

It remains to be seen whether or not Huntelaar and his cohort, or whoever arrives in lieu of the Dutchman, meet that criterion. If they don't do so this season Bernd Schuster will lose his job regardless of their future successes. Will Mijatovic go, too? And will Calderon?

In any case we may just find out within 24 hours which young forward is coming to Madrid, and then we can discuss whether or not an inexperienced striker can in fact save the day at the Bernabeu.

POSTSCRIPT: Hours after publication it emerged that Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is in fact on the verge of arrival at the Bernabeu.

Ewan Macdonald, Goal.com