Real Madrid News
20-year-old Real Madrid starlet has extended his contract until 2026 – report
Following the potentially season-ending injury to Eder Militao early in the season, Real Madrid opted not to sign a replacement and instead decided to place their faith in Castilla starlet Marvel.
Indeed, the 20-year-old youngster has been training with the first-team setup over the past few weeks and is being counted upon as the backup centre-back behind David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger, and Nacho Fernandez.
Marvel signs new contract
With Marvel enjoying a promotion of sorts within the club, it is now being reported that the young defender has also signed a new contract with Real Madrid.
Indeed, as per Mario Cortegana of The Athletic, Marvel has extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2026.
The 20-year-old prospect’s current contract ran until 2025 and talks over a new deal had been taking place for some time.
In fact, a rough agreement over the defender’s new contract was in place in August itself, with some final details left to be ironed out.
As such, it now appears that everything has been sorted and Marvel has committed his future to Real Madrid until 2026.
Will Marvel get a chance under Ancelotti?
Even though Marvel has been training with the first-team setup, the young defender has not made the matchday squad as of yet.
Instead, he has played one game for the Real Madrid Castilla team under Raul Gonzalez.
Carlo Ancelotti is currently counting on Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba as his starting centre-backs with Nacho as the first-choice backup.
The manager could also bank on the likes of Ferland Mendy and Dani Carvajal to play in central defence if needed.
So, it is unlikely that Marvel will have a big role with the first team this season, but could make a few appearances in non-consequential matches or in cup ties.
Life at Real Madrid has gotten off to a rather torrid start for Turkish starlet Arda Guler, who has already faced a large number of setbacks since singing for Los Blancos.
Aged just 18, the winger-slash-midfielder has already picked up seven injuries in his senior career, which is cause for serious concern, especially since a couple of them have affected his ligaments – which is always bad news.
Hotly-tipped to be an exciting addition to the Madrid squad going forward, the youngster had to drop out of their pre-season tour early due to a meniscus injury.
This was treated conservatively, but after that did not yield good results, he had to undergo a procedure and seemed set to make the squad against Las Palmas, before another injury setback.
According to Diario AS, the new problem can keep him out for three weeks to a month, which means his Real Madrid debut may have to wait till early November, after the first El Clasico of the season on 28th October.
Guler’s history of fitness problems
In their report, AS also state that the Turkish teenager seems to have a propensity for injuries, accumulating seven of them in his career already.
There is also word going around that his recovery from this meniscus issue was rushed and not handled adequately.
That, combined with a stroke of bad luck means Real Madrid have to be very mindful of how Guler is reintegrated into the squad going forward.
This new injury is reportedly a thigh problem which will also need to be treated with caution.
A special recovery plan
Carlo Ancelotti stated before and after the Las Palmas clash that the plan was for Guler to have some minutes against the Canary Islanders, but he said that genetics, luck and a lack of sharpness have a big part to play in this relapse.
The Italian manager did say that this issue is not as serious, but all signs indicate that there is an urgent need to work on the youngster’s conditioning.
AS thus say that a specific plan has been devised since the summer to enhance Guler’s fitness and his resistance.
This is a programme that is reportedly similar to the one Rodrygo followed when he arrived from Brazil, much thinner than he is today, but without having sacrificed his football qualities.
