Revealed: The four centre-backs on Real Madrid's transfer shortlist as Los Blancos look to address threadbare defence

Los Blancos made two major additions to their attack this summer as Kylian Mbappe joined them from Paris Saint-Germain for free and Endrick arrived from Palmeiras. The club, however, did not make any major defensive signings despite Nacho and Rafa Marin's departures from the club. They were chasing Lille's Lenny Yoro closely, but the young French defender eventually moved to Manchester United.

The reigning Spanish champions' defensive woes got further exposed during their recent El Clasico encounter as their arch-rivals Barcelona scored four goals past them. Carlo Ancelotti's side are currently trailing the Catalan giants by six points in La Liga and have already conceded 11 goals in as many appearances.

Amid their defensive crisis, The Athletic now reports that Real have prepared a shortlist of four centre-backs for the upcoming January transfer window to bolster their backline. The first name on the list is Palmerias sensation Vitor Reis, who is also wanted by Premier League giants Chelsea and Arsenal. They are also keeping an eye on Bundesliga defenders Jonathan Tah of Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig's Castello Lukeba. The final name in their shortlist is Al-Nassr and former Manchester City star Aymeric Laporte.

The Spanish champions were supposed to take the field in La Liga on Saturday against Valencia, however, the match got postponed due to flash floods which tragically claimed at least 95 lives. They will next face AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.