Real Madrid News
Mourinho confident of turning things around at Real Madrid as club agree to requests – report
As confirmed a while back, Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho have reached a full agreement for the manager to return to Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the current season.
The Portuguese tactician will leave SL Benfica and replace Alvaro Arbeloa as the Real Madrid manager, having agreed a two-year contract until 2028.
Mourinho confident of changing things at Real Madrid
Now, according to COPE (h/t Madrid Xtra), Mourinho is fully confident about turning things around at Real Madrid – both on and off the pitch.
Real Madrid are going through a difficult phase currently, not having won a major trophy for two consecutive seasons, while Barcelona have been flying under Hansi Flick.
Meanwhile, the Los Blancos’ dressing room in in a state of absolute turmoil, with division, politics, and infighting reigning supreme.
Real Madrid’s absolute priority, therefore, is to restore order and discipline in the locker room, for which they are prepared to take drastic measures if needed.
And, Mourinho, for his part, strongly believes that he can change the situation at the club, both on the football field and inside the locker room.
Mourinho’s four requests
According to the outlet, Mourinho also had four requests that he presented to Real Madrid which the club have fully agreed to fulfil.
The first one was that he should be allowed to have a say in transfers – both in terms of positions needing reinforced as well as targets for those areas.
Following that, Mourinho also wanted assurances that there would be no interference from the board with regard to things in the dressing room – from training to team selections.
The Portuguese also asked the club to not have him do pointless press conferences, while requesting to bring his own staff members to the Santiago Bernabeu.
And, Real Madrid have agreed to all of his requests, with Mourinho’s return expected to be made official after the end of the La Liga season.
After a month into the new season, Aurelien Tchouameni is finally back in action for Real Madrid.
The Frenchman made his first appearance of the season for the Merengues last night against Inter Milan after recovering from the muscular injury that delayed his campaign.
His return to fitness had raised questions over where he would fit into Mourinho’s plans.
Tchouameni has been a regular in Real Madrid’s midfield for several seasons under different managers, but the end of last season was far less straightforward.
His confrontation with Federico Valverde, combined with speculation over his future at the club, created uncertainty about his position. His lack of a proper pre-season also appeared to put him behind other midfield options.
Bernardo Silva had established himself as an important figure, while Eduardo Camavinga was also ahead of Tchouameni in terms of match fitness.
With Real Madrid looking for greater creativity in midfield, there were questions over whether the Frenchman would still be a first-choice player.
Key for Mourinho
According to AS (h/t Bernabeu Digital), however, Mourinho has no such doubts. Tchouameni remains a key player for the Portuguese coach and is expected to be a starter.
Mourinho sees the French international as a midfielder without a direct replacement in the squad.
For Jose, Tchouameni provides something that none of the other midfielders in the squad do – a more defensive and positional presence, combining his tactical discipline with considerable physical strength.
His ability to shield the defence and provide balance could be particularly important for a Real Madrid side that want to defend aggressively and attack quickly in transition.
For that reason, his absence at the start of the campaign has not changed the manager’s view of his importance.
Mourinho faces a midfield selection problem
The challenge for Mourinho now is finding a way to fit all the pieces together.
If Tchouameni is guaranteed a starting position and Valverde is considered untouchable as captain, the obvious consequence is that Bernardo could find himself starting from the bench.
The summer arrival had been given an important role in helping Real Madrid control and distribute possession from deeper positions.
However, with Tchouameni and Valverde both occupying midfield places, Mourinho cannot accommodate everyone in the same lineup.
How the Portuguese coach manages that competition will be interesting to see in the coming weeks.
