Real Madrid continue to make progress in the Club World Cup, which is serving as a sort of preseason for Xabi Alonso, who is still testing his ideas for the team while putting some players who are in doubt to the test. There are areas of the field that have been in doubt throughout the season, and with the arrival of the new coach, some things have changed, such as the presence of Arda Güler directing play in midfield, but options for the wide areas have not been ruled out.
Arda Güler still has room for improvement
Arda Güler is proving himself in this tournament as the architect the team needed. The Turkish player is becoming increasingly comfortable at the helm of Madrid. However, he has one weak point to improve on. He knows how to read the game and has a prodigious left foot for threading passes, but positioning himself to anticipate and cut out passes is something he needs to work on.
“Try to anticipate rather than react. If you’re in a better position, you get to the ball first and you don’t have to beat your opponent physically. We know that Arda will make mistakes, but he will also get things right. Maybe this is a time to invest in Arda’s development. He is doing well and we are continuing to push him. Let him gain experience, mature, and make mistakes. Let him accept them because they are part of the process if we want to have a strong Arda in that area,” said Xabi Alonso at a press conference.
The search for the new Toni Kroos continues
The search for the new Toni Kroos has been going on for months. Since the German’s departure last summer, Real Madrid has felt a considerable void in the wide areas of the pitch. They have lacked a guiding light, that type of player who is an organizer, with vision and good ball control, who connects the lines and contributes in both defense and offense. With the departure of Luka Modric, this need has become even more pressing, and although it seems that the team will make do with what it has for this season, the search has not stopped, as the idea of returning to this option next summer or even in winter, depending on how the season goes, has not been ruled out. In addition, Bellingham’s absence throughout the first half of the season, as he will undergo surgery to fix his shoulder problems, has reopened the debate about the search for a new midfielder.
For months, names such as Zubimendi, Angelo Stiller, Exequiel Palacios, Enzo Fernández, Adam Wharton, and many others have been mentioned, while Real Madrid tests what it has in its squad. Florentino, for the moment, has closed the door to new signings beyond Álvaro Carreras, who remains the priority for the Whites.
Vitinha is the chosen one
Madrid could have chosen Vitinha as a potential replacement for Modric. Joaquín Maroto pointed this out on Rubén Martín’s Twitch channel, naming him as the favorite, but also giving clues about all the possibilities Florentino Pérez has. “Real Madrid will be keeping an eye on the market until August 31, and on the opportunities that the market offers,” he insisted.
Maroto, however, has made it clear that the player most liked at the Santiago Bernabéu is Vitinha, although it will be very difficult to get him out of PSG. “Vitinha is the best, but we already know how difficult it is to get a player out of Paris. You have to wait for his contract to end, convince him, and wait for him for years, as happened with Kylian Mbappé, and that is very difficult. He has a contract with PSG until 2029,” he said.
The midfielder is very popular at Real Madrid and would bring what the team needs in terms of defense and playmaking. The Portuguese player has a contract until 2029, and Luis Enrique’s team would not let him go easily and would set a price tag of no less than $130 million.