Real Madrid News
Real Madrid defender unhappy with lack of game-time this season – report
With the club football set for a restart, Real Madrid are bracing themselves for a busy period ahead. While they are not expected to make too many moves during the January transfer window, the club are facing an ordeal in relation to the status of some of their squad members.
The likes of Nacho Fernandez, Toni Kroos and Dani Ceballos are all looking at an uncertain future at Santiago Bernabeu, as their contracts expire at the end of the season. There are already fears that Kroos may opt for early retirement, whereas there are no guarantees on the future of Nacho either.
According to Roberto Morales on El Chiringuito TV, the veteran centre-back is unhappy at Real Madrid due to his lack of game-time in the first team.
This is quite significant for Los Blancos as Nacho has historically never complained about his role in the first team throughout his ongoing nine-and-a-half-year spell at the club.
With 286 competitive appearances, the 32-year-old is one of the most experienced members of the current Real Madrid setup. But over the past decade or so, the Spaniard has largely played the role of a backup defender, to the likes of Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Raphael Varane, and more recently, David Alaba and Eder Militao.
But despite his lack of prominence in the starting eleven, Nacho had racked up over 1,500 minutes of league football in each of the past four seasons.
However, this time around, the veteran has only racked up 141 minutes so far, falling behind the likes of Militao, Alaba and summer signing Antonio Rudiger in the pecking order.
Rudiger’s arrival in the summer has indeed affected Nacho’s role in the team, to a great extent.
As such, the defender is not entirely sure about extending his contract at Santiago Bernabeu, especially amid speculation linking him to a reunion with Jose Mourinho at AS Roma.
The current edition of the Real Madrid squad is full of young talents, who have shown remarkable potential in recent years.
Arda Guler is among the young players looking to make a mark in European football in the years to come.
The young Turk joined Real Madrid earlier this summer, rejecting many other European giants in the process.
Toni Kroos mentoring Guler at Real Madrid
Guler has not enjoyed the best of starts to his life at Santiago Bernabeu, as he is spending a brief time on the sidelines due to an injury.
However, Guler has not stopped working on his characteristics, as he looks to kickstart his Real Madrid career on a positive note.
To that end, the former Fenerbahce starlet is receiving some key support from one of Real Madrid’s midfield pillars in the form of Toni Kroos.
This is according to MARCA, which suggests that the German international is mentoring Guler in his early days at Santiago Bernabeu.
Kroos: huge ‘sponsor’ of Guler
The report highlights how Toni Kroos is a huge admirer of Arda Guler. The German had even heaped praise on the youngster from Turkey when he joined the club earlier in the summer.
Guler, therefore, is closely training with Kroos, whose years of experience, composure, and knowledge of football, could help the youngster grow at Santiago Bernabeu.
This fits in well with Carlo Ancelotti’s vision at Real Madrid, as the Italian boss wants youngsters to have room to grow, especially with guidance from some of the older guards in the team.
It is one of the key reasons Real Madrid wanted to stick to Kroos and Luka Modric, despite bringing in Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham in the summer.
Guler, therefore, has the stage set for him to start his Real Madrid career on a strong note. After impressing in training, the next step for the youngster is to make a promising debut, which is just around the corner.
