Real Madrid News
Real Madrid academy attacking duo attracting strong interest from La Liga
One of the major complaints Real Madrid fans have had against Carlo Ancelotti, despite all the success he has brought the club, is his reluctance to count on youngsters coming through the youth ranks.
This season, however, an acute injury crisis has forced the Italian tactician, who will le managing his final game at the club later this weekend, call upon several young talents from the youth and reserve teams.
Raul Asencio has cemented his place in the first-team setup while Jacobo Ramon is also likely to follow in his footsteps.
Others like Victor Munoz, Lorenzo Aguado, Daniel Yanez, and Chema Andres also made their La Liga debuts this season under Ancelotti. Gonzalo Garcia, who had his big moment with the first team last season, also got some minutes.
Gonzalo, Munoz attracting interest
However, not everyone of them are likely to transition to the first-team setup moving forward and an exit in the summer remains likely for most.
In fact, according to The Athletic’s Guillermo Rai, the two academy forwards – Gonzalo Garcia and Victor Munoz – are attracting significant interest from clubs in La Liga.
Gonzalo has played 48 minutes of first-team football this season across three appearances and managed to contribute a goal and an assist.
Within the club, they see the 21-year-old, who has 24 goals for Castilla this term, as a complete striker who is ready to take the next step in his professional career.
In fact, the report states that practically half of the La Liga clubs are interested in signing the young forward. As has already been reported, Celta Vigo are one of the suitors.
Meanwhile, Munoz is also held in high regard at Real Madrid. Once discarded by Barcelona in the early stages of his youth football, the 21-year-old winger has had a breakthrough with Castilla this season, racking up ten goals and seven assists.
The winger’s camp believe that an exit could be possible this summer with the winger attracting interest from clubs in La Liga as well as the second division of Spain and teams from abroad.
As such, the La Fabrica duo of Gonzalo and Munoz could be poised to bid goodbye to Real Madrid come summer.
Real Madrid prospect Alexis Ciria will have to wait for his Champions League opportunity despite making a strong impression on Jose Mourinho during pre-season.
The Castilla winger has been left out of Real Madrid’s European squad, but the decision is the consequence of UEFA registration rules rather than a sporting judgment.
According to journalist Arancha Rodriguez (h/t Defensa Central), Ciria was not eligible for Madrid’s List B because he has not been with the club long enough to satisfy UEFA’s requirements.
Registering him would therefore have required Mourinho to include him on the more restrictive List A.
UEFA rules work against Ciria
List B provides clubs with additional flexibility to register young academy players, but being young enough is not sufficient on its own.
Players must also meet requirements concerning how long they have been eligible to represent the club.
Ciria does not meet those conditions because of his limited time at Valdebebas. Real Madrid would therefore have needed to sacrifice a List A position to register him.
With those places required for members of Mourinho’s senior squad, Ciria was ultimately left out.
Real Madrid’s List B instead includes youngsters such as Joan Martinez, Mario Rivas, Thiago Pitarch, Jorge Cestero and Daniel Yanez.
Many of these youngsters made a name for themselves under Mourinho during pre-season and could be used to make up the numbers in the Champions League squad.
They could also get some minutes off the bench, especially against relatively easier opposition, as Jose Mourinho looks to manage first-team minutes.
Mourinho still plans first-team opportunity
Importantly for Ciria, missing the Champions League squad does not appear to reflect a change in Mourinho’s opinion of him.
The youngster impressed during pre-season and is expected to continue spending time around the senior team.
Mourinho intends to give Ciria his official first-team debut during the season. That opportunity will now have to arrive in La Liga or the Copa del Rey.
The Portuguese tactician placed a lot of emphasis on trusting Castilla players during pre-season in the absence of first-team stars.
Ciria was one of the many names who made a name for themselves at Real Madrid during pre-season. He deserves a chance in the first team, and it remains to be seen how Jose plans his development.
