Luka Modric speaks highly of Real Madrid teenage whizkid: “He’s a great talent”

Veteran Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has said that he absolutely loves Arda Guler’s eagerness to learn, listen, and get better, adding that he hopes the youngster returns to action soon enough.

Real Madrid signed Guler from Fenerbahce in July after agreeing to pay a fee of €20 million, which exceeded his actual release clause of  €17.5 million.

However, the 18-year-old has not been able to play a single minute this season owing to back-to-back injuries.

A brief timeline of Guler’s injuries

It must be noted that while Guler has returned to training with the first team, the path hasn’t been easy for him, as ever since signing for the team, the 18-year-old has been troubled with physical problems.

Guler’s initial injury occurred during Real Madrid’s preseason tour of the USA, where he faced a meniscus problem. Subsequently, the player underwent a routine knee surgery, which is not regarded as significant.

While he was poised to return against Las Palmas last month, tragedy struck as Guler experienced an entirely unrelated physical setback, this time affecting his “muscle of the left rectus femoris.”

Modric explains what went wrong for him

While speaking about Guler and his physical issues, Modric stated that the youngster rushed into getting fit, which was the primary reason why he has to wait to make his debut.

“I love him, he’s a great kid. He has this eagerness to learn, to get better, to listen. He’s a great talent,” said Modric as reported by SPORT. 

“Unfortunately, he got injured when he came to Madrid, then he recovered and maybe he wanted to force things to come back earlier because he wanted to show his talent to Madrid and got injured again. 

“The other day I told him he needs to take things calmly, to go little by little, and that he’s young so he has time to show his quality and his talent to Madrid fans. 

“I wish him all the best. Hopefully now when he comes back he will start showing his quality but the most important thing about him is he’s a great, great kid,” he added.