Real Madrid News
Ancelotti wants to see how young Real Madrid midfield duo performs together
As we get set to enter the business end of the 2022/23 season, Real Madrid are still competing on three fronts.
Having already won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, Carlo Ancelotti’s men are in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, have all but made it through to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, and are second in La Liga.
With so much still on the line, Ancelotti will need his entire squad to step up and make a difference for the remainder of the campaign.
The midfield department is perhaps the most well-covered one at the Santiago Bernabeu, with as many as six senior options available at the manager’s disposal.
However, of late, Ancelotti has slowly begun to rotate the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric much more frequently than in the past, putting the spotlight on younger individuals like Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni.
And, according to a report from AS (h/t Madrid Zone), the Real Madrid manager is keen to see how the young French duo of Tchouameni and Camavinga perform when played together in the middle of the park.
Often it has been the case that Ancelotti has not started the French midfielders together. Furthermore, Tchouameni has been absent for a good chunk of the campaign since the World Cup break due to injury and illness.
During this time, Camavinga has stepped up and performed admirably in the defensive midfield position. The youngster has also shone brightly when asked to fill in as a makeshift left-back as well, while he can play as an interior midfielder too.
Now that Tchouameni is back and in contention to start against Atletico Madrid tomorrow, it will be interesting to see how the dynamics of the Real Madrid midfield change.
Only time will tell whether the manager decides to start both Tchouameni and Camavinga in midfield for the derby or opts for the experience of Kroos and Modric over the latter.
Arda Guler’s Real Madrid stint has not gotten off to the start he would have hoped to have given the expectation that preceded the transfer.
Having joined in the summer after Real Madrid outbid their competition to win him over from Fenerbahce for a 20-million-euro fee, buzz was high as the winger was expected to slot into the team quite seamlessly, albeit on a rotational basis.
Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, he has been constantly marred by injuries since completing the move.
Reports have stated that after Guler picked up his third injury since his move, Real Madrid have been concerned and want to take things slow with the player to ensure he is fit as soon as possible after an injury to his quadriceps this time.
The Turk is yet to make his competitive debut for the club, and Real Madrid even sacked their medical chief in November, in light of their injury crises since the beginning of the season.
No loan deal for Guler
However, according to Fabrizio Romano in a recent YouTube video, he states that Madrid maintain full trust and patience in the youngster.
Despite his bad luck with injuries, the latest of which he is scheduled to return from after Christmas, the Galacticos have no intention of loaning out Guler to Turkish clubs despite lots of speculation of them doing so of late.
Romano states that Madrid remain firm on not shaking things up too much with the squad, and they want to keep their roster stable, including Arda Guler.
They want to extend their full support and protection to the player as he aims to return to full fitness and finally make his bow for Madrid either by the end of this month or in 2024.
