Real Madrid News
Real Madrid young midfielder knocking on senior team door after impressive form with Castilla
Real Madrid have been going to-for-toe with the best football academies in the world, churning out exciting prospects in every position in an attempt to reinforce the team without spending too much money.
The likes of Fran Garcia and Nico Paz are contesting for spots in the first team, while Daniel Carvajal has already made a name for himself as one of the best right-backs in the world over the past decade.
At the same time, a certain Mario Martin is also knocking at the senior-team’s door. Reports from MARCA say that the Spaniard is performing at his best possible level with Castilla, managed by Raul.
He is ready to make an entry under Carlo Ancelotti, which could be as early as Madrid’s game against Cadiz this weekend.
A midfielder by trade, Martin can play as an interior or as a pivot, both, and has played six out of 13 games with the Castilla side so far this season.
Real Madrid are heavily hamstrung in midfield after the injuries to Dani Ceballos, Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni, and most recently, Eduardo Camavinga. The French duo, especially, are out until January.
Nico Paz has received game time in their absence, making his debut against Braga in the Champions League, and then also coming on in the second half against Valencia.
Martin has been called up to the Madrid senior team ample times, and he also made his debut for them vs Atletico Madrid in the 2022/23 Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
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.
