Real Madrid News
Report – The two names around which Mourinho plans to build the Real Madrid midfield
Real Madrid are preparing for a new era under Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho, who is set to enjoy his second spell managing Los Blancos.
Mourinho’s first spell was legendary in every sense of the word, not just for those iconic battles with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, but for the foundation he laid.
It was on his foundation that Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane later went on to enjoy so much success, and the Portuguese manager deserves fair credit for it.
Now, he arrives for a second spell at a time when Real Madrid are struggling and unable to compete domestically.
Everyone is curious to see how Mourinho sets the team up, who his preferred players are and what the style of play is going to look like.
Among the many questions is the identity of the midfield under the former Inter Milan and Manchester United manager.
The two-pronged midfield
According to Ramon Alvarez de Mon, Jose Mourinho plans to build his Real Madrid midfield around two players: Fede Valverde and Jude Bellingham.
The former is one of the club’s most important players and captains, and one of the few who actually had a decent 2025/26 season.
Bellingham, on the other hand, has struggled to hit the heights of his first season at the club in subsequent campaigns and will hope Mourinho can change his fortunes.
Irrespective of form, there is no questioning either player’s class, and it comes as no surprise that these are the two names Jose has identified to build his midfield around.
The need for an orchestrator
One thing has to be made clear here. Although the midfield might be built around these two players, they alone will not be enough to run the ship.
The most important profile Real Madrid need in midfield is a deep-lying orchestrator. In other words, they need a long-delayed Toni Kroos replacement.
The club have somewhat mitigated this issue by signing Bernardo Silva, but the former Man City captain is more of a utility piece in the puzzle than an expert in that role.
The club have been linked with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez and need such a profile to conduct the midfield under Mourinho.
A lot of work still needs to be done in the transfer market. It remains to be seen how Mourinho’s midfield shapes up in the coming months and whether the club make any signings to help the manager in this regard.
Real Madrid will be looking to pick up their fifth win of the 2026/27 La Liga season when they take on Elche CF at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero later tonight.
With 12 points from five games, Los Blancos are currently second in the league table, three points below leaders FC Barcelona.
As such, the Spanish capital club will be eager to get the win and close the gap to the top.
Guler starts, Bellingham rested
Ahead of kickoff, Real Madrid have announced the starting lineup that will take the field against Elche, with Jose Mourinho making some important changes.
For starters, Arda Guler is back in the lineup after appearing as a substitute in the win over Rayo Vallecano.
Interestingly, however, he starts in the attacking midfield role, with Mourinho opting to rest Jude Bellingham, who has started all of Real Madrid’s games so far.
That also means that Yan Diomande retains his place in the team, starting for a second time in a row on the right wing. Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. continue in their respective positions in attack.
Another notable change sees Aurelien Tchouameni make his first start of the season after recovering from injury and making two appearances off the bench.
He replaces Bernardo Silva as Federico Valverde’s partner in the middle of the park.
Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marc Cucurella come in as full-backs, while Ibrahima Konate and Dean Huijsen slot in at centre-back in front of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
📋✅ ¡Nuestro XI inicial!
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 15, 2026
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