The official season for Real Madrid has begun. They have already played two games, the European Super Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt and the first league game against Almería. Both paid off with victory. However, beyond the wins, the highlights of these first two games are the rotations, those that Ancelotti has mentioned so much during the preseason. In the 180 official minutes that Madrid have played, there have been 18 players who have played at least one minute. Therefore, there have been five without participating, and those are Marco Asensio, Andriy Lunin, Mariano, Álvaro Odriozola and Jesús Vallejo.
The situation of each of them is different.. Lunin and Vallejo are the only two players on this list who are going to stay safe in the team unless something strange happens. The Ukrainian, who will not have many minutes as Courtois’ substitute goalkeeper, has had offers during this summer market to be able to leave the club. However, he has not accepted them. The main reason for continuing at the most successful club in Europe is personal: he has just become a father and wants to stay in the city. If a great offer arrives for him, his departure is not ruled out, but right now it is very difficult. For his part, Vallejo, who is currently the team’s last central defender, has convinced Ancelotti after a great pre-season for the United States. He knows that he will not play every game, but with the rotations planned by Ancelotti, added to his great performances in America, the Spaniard plans to stay.
Different is the situation of the other three players. Álvaro Odriozola is the closest to leaving. After his loan at Fiorentina, he arrived this summer with the intention of making a place for himself in the team. However, he has not convinced the Italian coach. He has Carvajal, Lucas Vázquez and even Vinicius Tobias ahead of him in his position, who overtook him on the right. He will not have options in Madrid (He was left out of the call for the final of the European Super Cup), so he is already testing the market. Inter Milan or the Nottingham Forest are two of their possible destinations.
Mariano is another one Ancelotti doesn’t have. It has never been to his liking, so he has not given him too many opportunities either. At the moment, after the departure of Borja Mayoral, he is the second center forward in use by the squad. However, Carletto has already tested Hazard as a “9″ for the games in which Benzema has to rest.. Despite the fact that he will not have minutes, Mariano plans to continue in Madrid and fulfill his contract, which ends in 2023.
Marco Asensio is the last on the list. The Spanish international is the player with the most name of all. In the last season, for example, he played 42 games in which he scored 12 goals and became the team’s third top scorer. His level is very high, but throughout the market there have been rumors about his possible departure. Although Ancelotti told him during the American tour that he would count on him, he has stayed at 0 in the two official matches that Madrid have played so far. Surprising was the decision not to give him game minutes against Almería, in which Rodrygo could not participate due to a thigh injury and Valverde was expected to rest. He had offers in the summer, where he already saw leaving the club as an option in the face of the competition that he would face, but they did not convince him. Now, faced with this situation, she finds herself in a maze. His contract ends in 2023 and he has to play to make sure he goes to the World Cup in Qatar. Difficult situation.
