Real Madrid's transfer targets need to tick more than just the superstar box

ESPN FC's Sid Lowe assesses the possibility of James Rodriguez leaving Real Madrid this summer.

Dimitri Payet to Real Madrid? Silly season is upon us, and the football gods are to be worshipped for it.
However, the Bernabeu has been on the receiving end of a hammering before, so at this stage of the summer everything should be taken with a large pinch of salt.
Alfredo di Stefano's face said it all back in in January 2009. The late Real honorary president's reaction when Julien Faubert was unveiled as a Madrid player was a picture. Faubert reportedly cost €1.5 million for a six-month loan deal, with an option to buy on a three-year contract. Suffice it to say that option was not pursued.
In the real world, the last thing Madrid need ahead of next season is another mercurial attacking midfielder who chips in with less than a tackle per game. There are areas of the squad that need more urgent attention for 2016-17.

Left back

Marcelo is an extraordinary athlete. His skills honed in Brazilian futsal, the Real left back can pull off some fantastic tricks.
But surely he was never destined to play in defence. It is an aspect that Marcelo has improved upon hugely this season -- a plus-point from the Rafa Benitez months -- but behind the Brazilian Real are horribly short of cover.
Nacho can put in a shift but if the canterano wants anything approaching a meaningful career he should probably ask the way to the Bernabeu exit door this summer.
Alvaro Arbeloa could point him in the right direction: The veteran utility defender has called it a day and that leaves the club one twanged hamstring away from a serious problem. Marcelo is not hugely injury prone and his last lengthy layoff was in the 2012-13 season but it would be foolhardy of the Bernabeu board not to plan for the eventuality.
Possible targets: Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal), Jose Luis Gaya (Valencia), Jeffrey Schlupp (Leicester City)

Central defender

Pepe isn't getting any younger and Sergio Ramos' discipline continues to be an issue. Behind the first-choice pairing are Raphael Varane -- who is being linked with a move to any European rival offering a regular starting berth -- and Nacho, who wasn't ever, isn't currently and never will be an adequate replacement for the Portuguese and Spanish central defensive stalwarts.
Pepe and Ramos though only managed 21 and 23 Liga appearances respectively this season, injuries and suspensions limiting their playing time and in Ramos' case the former taking a toll on his performances. It has been far from a vintage campaign for the Spain international, who celebrated his 30th birthday in March and has played half the season with pain-killing injections.
Pepe is 33 and his contract expires next summer. Old father time is fiddling with the buttons on the added-minutes board and Real have left the issue unaddressed for far too long.
Possible targets: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Daniele Rugani (Juventus), Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia), Mateo Musacchio (Villarreal)

Real Madrid midfielder Isco spoke about his team's label as "favourites" against Atletico in the upcoming UCL final.

Defensive midfielder

It's hard to get tired of bringing up Florentino Perez's opinion of Claude Makelele when the France midfield general was sold to Chelsea in 2003.
"He wasn't a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres," Perez opined. "Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten."
What was forgotten more immediately at the Bernabeu were title victories. After "water carrier" Makelele took his bucket and his Liga winner's medal to Chelsea, champagne was in short supply at the Bernabeu. It took four years, several coaches and Perez's resignation to bring success back to Madrid.
It was a mistake that Perez has been keen to avoid in his second spell in the big chair. Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira, Michael Essien, Fernando Gago... defensive midfield has not been ignored since 2009. But perhaps in Casemiro the club has finally found a true successor to Makelele.
It has been a typical Bernabeu tale for the Brazilian: Snapped up from Sao Paolo, via Castilla and a loan spell at Porto, Casemiro has become indispensable under Zinedine Zidane. No amount of money would currently tempt Real to sell but when Casemiro is absent there is no natural replacement in the squad.
Luka Modric and Toni Kroos combined paper over the cracks but neither is a natural defensive midfielder and both are better deployed further forward.
In a season when previously unheard of France-born midfielders are all the rage, N'Golo Kante is an obvious choice but whether Perez would be willing to fork out €30 million or so for Makelele 2.0 is open to question.
Possible targets: Grzegorz Krychowiak (Sevilla), Radja Nainggolan (Roma), Jorginho (Napoli), Emre Can (Liverpool)

Forward

James Rodriguez's days at Real Madrid are surely numbered, despite the club's official line.
If it comes to a straight choice between Isco -- a Bernabeu favourite with the advantage of ticking the UEFA home-grown quota box -- and James it's a battle the Colombian international won't win.
James is not a forward per se but often fills in on the right of a front three when required, and that gap has been extremely pronounced this season. Karim Benzema has missed four Champions League games and 11 in La Liga through injury, Gareth Bale five and 14. Domestically, given the pair's scoring stats this season, that arguably cost Real the league title.
Lucas Vazquez has been exceptional as a back up to the big three but it seems inevitable Real will seek reinforcements this summer. Vazquez is a fine player and his exceptional season has earned him a call-up to the Spain squad for Euro 2016 but he doesn't have the profile Real and Perez require to satiate a voracious global merchandising market.
This could be Real's best chance of an all-out assault for Sergio Aguero bearing fruit. Otherwise, expect the usual suspects to be rounded up by the papers, and whatever contracts may have been signed recently to be roundly disregarded by all concerned.
Alvaro Morata is the obvious option, but Real being Real it appears increasingly likely the Spain forward will be repurchased from Juventus only to be sold to the highest bidder.
Possible targets: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Michy Batshuayi (Marseille)