Real Madrid News
Real Madrid midfield star enjoys the full confidence of Ancelotti despite dip in form
The competition in midfield at Real Madrid will be more than ever during the 2023/24 season. With the arrival of Jude Bellingham for a record fee followed by Arda Guler’s acquisition, Carlo Ancelotti will have plenty of options to choose from, and thus comes the massive conundrum.
Amidst all this, it has been reported by MARCA that a certain Aurelien Tchouameni still has the full confidence of his manager and the Italian believes that the former AS Monaco man will get back to his usual best.
The manager is of the idea that Tchouameni will recover after undergoing a dip in form during the second half of the previous season, that is, after the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Tchouameni, 23, joined Real Madrid for a fee reported to be around €80 million, rising up to €100 million if certain criteria are met. The French international started his Madrid tenure with a bang, but post FIFA World Cup, he lost his starting spot in Ancelotti’s lineup.
Now, despite the manager’s trust, it is not that the midfielder will return to the starting grid right away. On the contrary, he will have to earn his place especially now that there is increased competition in the team.
Fran Garcia’s acquisition means Eduardo Camavinga will no longer have to play as a makeshift left-back. This means Tchouameni will now have to battle for a solitary spot against his compatriot, as well as Toni Kroos, who was used as a pivot by Ancelotti in quite a few matches last term.
Meanwhile, Tchouameni’s unusual situation at Real Madrid certainly has not gone unnoticed as it is believed that several Premier League clubs are keeping tabs on the player. As reported before, Tchouameni also has admirers within the Bayern Munich offices.
However, despite the interest, the Bavarians have not made any contact either with the player or with Real Madrid. In all honesty, one cannot expect them to do that anyway as the player has no interest in leaving. Above all, Real Madrid are not at all interested in doing business in the first place.
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.
