Real Madrid News
Real Madrid have already chosen former midfielder as their next manager – report
Real Madrid’s recent defeat to Atletico Madrid has once again sparked rumours about Carlo Ancelotti’s future. After all, defeats are seldom tolerated well in the Spanish capital.
The administration at Valdebebas has gone as far as to identify some cardinal ‘sins’ that the manager committed during the game that led to the poor result.
Needless to say, talks of a replacement are also gaining prominence, especially with Ancelotti’s contract set to expire in 2024.
Real Madrid identity their prime target
According to reports from Radio MARCA (h/t Madrid Xtra), Los Blancos have passed the stage of speculation.
They have already chosen Xabi Alonso to be the new manager of the first team next summer. There is no doubt or room for other options.
The club legend has made a phenomenal start to life in top-flight management. Taking over at Bayer Leverkusen in 2022, he has helped the German side reach new heights on multiple fronts.
This season, Leverkusen already sit second on the league standings with four wins in five games. In that duration, they have scored 17 goals while conceding only six. Further, they average 1.8 points per game under his guidance.
Multiple clubs interested in Alonso
While Alonso’s numbers so far have impressed Real Madrid, Los Blancos are not the only club vying for his signature.
Earlier this week, Fabrizio Romano relayed that multiple top European sides, in fact, are in his pursuit.
Bayern Munich and Liverpool are some of the big names like with the Merengues’ dream target.
Yet, one can remain assured that there will be more clubs joining the race as the 2023-24 campaign proceeds.
The pressure is thus on the Spanish giants to clear the uncertainty over Carlo Ancelotti’s future.
If the club do not wish to persist with him, the Brazilian national team are interested in acquiring his services next summer. A decision must be made fast, for Los Blancos cannot afford to lose the tactician to the growing competition.
Real Madrid’s main goal heading into the summer transfer window was to wrap up the signing of Jude Bellingham amid massive interest from Premier League giants such as Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola’s City, especially, were ready to match and increase any salary Madrid offered, and were going strongly into the bidding war.
Eventually, Bellingham decided to join Madrid after they reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for €3 million.
However, following this, los blancos had to improvise a fair bit as Karim Benzema decided to leave the club to join Al-Ittihad on a free transfer. They were expecting him to continue for another season, at least, and it stumped their plans in the market.
In the next few weeks, Madrid chased forwards, and ended up signing Joselu, Brahim Diaz, and a certain Arda Guler, who was close to Barcelona before eventually ending up at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Unfortunately for Madrid, he is yet to play a single minute for the club after picking up a serious injury in pre-season. Despite being on the bench for a couple of games, Guler suffered a relapse in training, and was sidelined again.
Now, reports from Yagiz Sabuncuoglu say that the Turkish international is close to returning to team training.
Guler has slowly, but surely, been recovering from his injury, and could take to the pitch for his first minutes with the club in the next few weeks as Madrid look for solutions after a month full of injuries.
With Vinicius Jr, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eder Militao, and Thibaut Courtois all out until early 2024, Madrid have relied on Castilla for reinforcements, but could do with Guler’s services in their forward line.
That said, Carlo Ancelotti and co. are expected to be extremely cautious when it comes to the Turkish international. The slightest spell of poor man-management here could make or break the youngster’s career.
