Real Madrid News
Exit-linked Real Madrid midfielder ‘incredibly motivated’ to prove he deserves a place in the team
Departures are often difficult at a club like Real Madrid, where players do not really have a reason to leave.
Barring a few situations where players may honestly understand their situation and lack of minutes to push for an exit, in most cases players do not consider leaving the club under any circumstances.
After all, their contract ties them down to the club that represents the pinnacle of football, and they continue to dream and hope that they can improve and convince the manager to hand them more prominence. Eduardo Camavinga is currently in the same boat.
Pressing to stay
As widely reported in recent weeks, Real Madrid are pushing for major sales this summer and wish to cash in on at least one high-quality name in the dressing room to balance the books. Camavinga, on that front, has emerged as a top candidate.
As reported by Pablo Gallego in a recent report, however, the French midfielder does not share the same sentiment and is pushing to stay at Real Madrid at any cost.
Such is the midfielder’s dedication that he returned to Valdebebas last week and trained alone several times in an attempt to get himself prepared for pre-season early.
He is more motivated than ever and reportedly wants to prove that he deserves a place in the team.
Camavinga is currently incredibly motivated and has been locked in on training even during his vacations. He has only one idea in his mind – to come back better than ever and to prove himself.
A critical preseason
Having not been called up for the FIFA World Cup, Camavinga is one of the few first-team players who has already begun training under Jose Mourinho from day 1 of his pre-season.
The coming weeks will be critical in determining his future, especially because the manager will have a keen eye on his training displays.
Providing strong performances now, needless to say, appears to be Camavinga’s only means of staying at the club.
If Los Blancos push for a departure, however, Camavinga has several top Premier League sides who are eyeing him.
After all, there is no doubt about his quality but only a question about his inconsistency at Real Madrid.
Real Madrid’s adventure so far under new coach Jose Mourinho has been far from perfect and this fact shouldn’t be lost even after the team’s brilliant comeback win over AS Roma in midweek.
However, there are areas where Los Blancos have shown a clear improvement under Mourinho, when compared to previous bosses such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
One of those areas has been set plays, with Real Madrid appearing far more potent from set pieces this season.
A clear improvement from last season
As reported by Diario AS, the three goals in Rome, all from Arda Guler corners inside a seven-minute blitz, were the perfect advert for the work being done at Valdebebas.
Those strikes took Real Madrid’s set-piece tally to seven goals in just ten matches this season. Four of them have come in La Liga, one from a corner and three from free kicks, with the trio in Rome completing the haul.
It is a striking figure when set against last season’s return. Under Alonso and Arbeloa, Madrid managed 12 set-piece goals across the entire campaign, all in La Liga, split evenly between six from corners and six from free kicks.
On current trends, this side looks well placed to surpass that number comfortably.
The reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement
Attacking set pieces are led at Valdebebas by Pedro Machado, with the whole coaching staff involved and Mourinho himself giving the final green light on every routine.
Defending them, meanwhile, falls to Sami Khedira, though it is treated as a collective effort. Mourinho’s appreciation of that teamwork was clear when Bellingham headed in a Guler free kick against Espanyol, prompting the manager to leap up and embrace his assistants.
Machado, one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants, has followed him from Fenerbahce to Benfica and now Madrid, part of a backroom team blending experience with young, ambitious talent.
On the pitch, Guler is the undisputed master when available, his left foot the key weapon, with Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold and even Diomande also trusted to initiate attacks.
Such meticulous strategy has helped Real Madrid turn into a potent side from set-pieces this season.
