Real Madrid News
Real Madrid mainstay dismisses Chelsea transfer links: “Want to keep winning titles”
Federico Valverde’s 2022/23 season has only sky-rocketed his already premium stocks. After all, the Uruguayan international is seen as one of world football’s brightest young midfielders with Real Madrid legend Clarence Seedorf even backing him to win the Ballon d’Or.
Needless to say, Valverde has several proposals on the table with more lucrative contracts and perhaps a more prominent role. Yet, he has always been a player with complete dedication to the badge and is now reaping the rewards.
Earlier this month, reports stated that Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino had his eyes set on the Real Madrid youngster. In an interview with ESPN Argentina today, Valverde put the rumours to bed and confirmed his desire to stay in the Spanish capital.
“No, No, I’m at Madrid, trying to enjoy every moment and leave my mark on the best club in the world. I want to keep winning titles for Real Madrid fans,” he said.
The 24-year-old made 34 La Liga appearances for Los Blancos in the recently concluded season, scoring seven goals and providing four assists. Further, he averaged 1.3 key passes per game and created eight big chances.
While Valverde was a consistent performer throughout the season, a major chunk of his goal contributions came in the first half of the season. He was decent in the subsequent period as well, albeit with fewer contributions in front of goal.
As the 2023/24 season nears, it remains to be seen as to where Carlo Ancelotti places him in the squad – as an attacker or in midfield.
The Uruguayan is naturally best placed in the middle of the park. However, with Luka Modric, Jude Bellingham, Toni Kroos, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Eduardo Camavinga already in competition for three spots, Valverde could feature as a right-winger next season.
The flank role is not entirely foreign for the 24-year-old, for he played several matches in the position last season. With the forward line depleted in resources, Valverde’s versatility could prove to be Ancelotti’s trump card.
Life at Real Madrid has gotten off to a rather torrid start for Turkish starlet Arda Guler, who has already faced a large number of setbacks since singing for Los Blancos.
Aged just 18, the winger-slash-midfielder has already picked up seven injuries in his senior career, which is cause for serious concern, especially since a couple of them have affected his ligaments – which is always bad news.
Hotly-tipped to be an exciting addition to the Madrid squad going forward, the youngster had to drop out of their pre-season tour early due to a meniscus injury.
This was treated conservatively, but after that did not yield good results, he had to undergo a procedure and seemed set to make the squad against Las Palmas, before another injury setback.
According to Diario AS, the new problem can keep him out for three weeks to a month, which means his Real Madrid debut may have to wait till early November, after the first El Clasico of the season on 28th October.
Guler’s history of fitness problems
In their report, AS also state that the Turkish teenager seems to have a propensity for injuries, accumulating seven of them in his career already.
There is also word going around that his recovery from this meniscus issue was rushed and not handled adequately.
That, combined with a stroke of bad luck means Real Madrid have to be very mindful of how Guler is reintegrated into the squad going forward.
This new injury is reportedly a thigh problem which will also need to be treated with caution.
A special recovery plan
Carlo Ancelotti stated before and after the Las Palmas clash that the plan was for Guler to have some minutes against the Canary Islanders, but he said that genetics, luck and a lack of sharpness have a big part to play in this relapse.
The Italian manager did say that this issue is not as serious, but all signs indicate that there is an urgent need to work on the youngster’s conditioning.
AS thus say that a specific plan has been devised since the summer to enhance Guler’s fitness and his resistance.
This is a programme that is reportedly similar to the one Rodrygo followed when he arrived from Brazil, much thinner than he is today, but without having sacrificed his football qualities.
