Real Madrid News
Real Madrid outcast wanted by Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma in January
The FIFA World Cup 2022 has stolen the limelight in the football world and it goes without saying that eyes across the globe are fixated on the event in Qatar. Yet, there is no break for Real Madrid’s offices as they continue to work hard through the lean period to simplify the state of affairs at the club.
The winter transfer window is scheduled to begin in just over a month. While Los Blancos are unlikely to sign any new players in January, one would expect some departures from the bench.
One of the players with the highest chances to leave is Alvaro Odriozola, given that he has not made a single appearance for the club this term.
And, according to reports from Mundo Deportivo Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma have entered the race for the right-back and wish to incorporate him into their roster in the coming window.
The 26-year-old is no stranger to the Serie A, having played at Fiorentina on loan last season before he returned to Madrid hoping to win the manager’s trust.
Four months into the new season, it is clear that Ancelotti does not rate him highly, with the right-back being the only player in the senior squad yet to play a single minute of football this season.
And an exit would be in Odriozola’s best interest too. Roma will have to battle it out with their domestic rivals Juventus for his signing, with the Bianconeri said to be keen on the former Real Sociedad defender as well.
Odriozola’s contract with Real Madrid runs until the summer of 2024. With just a year and a half left on his deal, Florentino Perez will look to speed up the negotiations and offload the player, who does not seem to be a part of Ancelotti’s plans at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid’s adventure so far under new coach Jose Mourinho has been far from perfect and this fact shouldn’t be lost even after the team’s brilliant comeback win over AS Roma in midweek.
However, there are areas where Los Blancos have shown a clear improvement under Mourinho, when compared to previous bosses such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
One of those areas has been set plays, with Real Madrid appearing far more potent from set pieces this season.
A clear improvement from last season
As reported by Diario AS, the three goals in Rome, all from Arda Guler corners inside a seven-minute blitz, were the perfect advert for the work being done at Valdebebas.
Those strikes took Real Madrid’s set-piece tally to seven goals in just ten matches this season. Four of them have come in La Liga, one from a corner and three from free kicks, with the trio in Rome completing the haul.
It is a striking figure when set against last season’s return. Under Alonso and Arbeloa, Madrid managed 12 set-piece goals across the entire campaign, all in La Liga, split evenly between six from corners and six from free kicks.
On current trends, this side looks well placed to surpass that number comfortably.
The reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement
Attacking set pieces are led at Valdebebas by Pedro Machado, with the whole coaching staff involved and Mourinho himself giving the final green light on every routine.
Defending them, meanwhile, falls to Sami Khedira, though it is treated as a collective effort. Mourinho’s appreciation of that teamwork was clear when Bellingham headed in a Guler free kick against Espanyol, prompting the manager to leap up and embrace his assistants.
Machado, one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants, has followed him from Fenerbahce to Benfica and now Madrid, part of a backroom team blending experience with young, ambitious talent.
On the pitch, Guler is the undisputed master when available, his left foot the key weapon, with Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold and even Diomande also trusted to initiate attacks.
Such meticulous strategy has helped Real Madrid turn into a potent side from set-pieces this season.
