On the 30th of July and with a lot of fish still to be sold in the transfer market, Real Madrid face next season with several fronts still open in terms of the squad, the playing system and some crucial figures in the success of the Merengues. These are four of the keys that will define Real Madrid’s 23/24 campaign:
Kylian Mbappé as the jewel in the crown:
For yet another summer, the French superstar continues to sound a strong case for a move to Real Madrid. And while he would be a dream signing due to his performances (unmatched by any other player on the current footballing scene), the unpredictability of his signing could cause several problems for the planning of the season.
Among them, the main one is the absence of a ‘9’ to fight for all competitions, as Joselu (being a great player) is not at the level of what is expected of Madrid’s first-choice striker. Everything seems to point to the Frenchman arriving in the next few weeks (if not days) to fill the gap and provide a striker for Los Blancos, but if not, the absence of a ‘plan B’ would leave the 14-time European champions without a striker and few options to cover their backs (while they wait for the arrival of Endrick next season).
Bellingham as one of the keys to the season:
And from a signing that has been sounding for years without being confirmed, we jump to one that has been in the white discipline for a month and a half and was registered to play the league just a few days ago. Jude Bellingham has landed on his feet at Real Madrid and will be crucial to Carlo Ancelotti’s side next season.
The Englishman is a perfect fit for Madrid’s fast-paced, lethal counter-attacking system. He is a brilliant player in transition, a great goal threat, a physical defender and a dribbler beyond what his size would suggest.
Although he has been compared to Modrić, it isn’t the same player profile even though they occupy the same position on the pitch. The new ‘five’ of the Chamartín institution still needs to grow in playmaking duties, although he seems to have the necessary tools to become a good initiator and creator in the offensive zone.
Despite the ‘overbooking’ in Real Madrid’s midfield, a player signed for more than 100 million euros like Bellingham should play as many minutes as possible in order to finish his adaptation and establish himself as one of the keys to the present and future of Real Madrid.
Brahim Díaz, facing his big opportunity:
After a three-season loan spell at Milan, the former Manchester City player returns to Madrid with the aim of carving out a niche for himself and becoming one of the key players on the bench in Los Blancos’ rotation. In a squad with an abundance of midfielders and a clear lack of strikers (they only have four at the moment), the Spanish player will start as a substitute on the right wing.
If he wants to stay with Madrid, Brahim is obliged to maintain the progressive growth curve he has experienced in Italy over the last few years. Playing for the ‘rossoneri’, his development has been remarkable but insufficient in the eyes of many to earn him a place at a club like Real Madrid.
In his time with the Italian giants he managed 18 goals and 15 assists in all competitions, showing virtues such as speed and dribbling that have allowed him to be one of the team’s leaders in created chances. However, he still needs to get used to raising his head to better associate with his teammates in the attacking line, his great unresolved issue.
Carlo Ancelotti and the keys to a new system:
Last but not least, it is vitally important to comment on the role the Italian manager will play in the future of Los Merengues. Rumours suggest that he will leave Madrid to coach the Brazilian national team once the season is over and his current contract expires, but Ancelotti has always been patient about making a decision when his deal runs out.
Carletto’ may be getting on in years, he may be in his second spell at Real Madrid and he may not be the most tactically brilliant coach, but his success is undisputed and he has plenty of credit to continue if he wishes to do so. Should he leave, aspects such as his dressing room management would be sorely missed at Chamartín.
In what could be his last season at the helm of the club with which he has won the Champions League twice, he faces a big challenge in terms of the formation: he has up to eight players (if you consider Arda Güler as a midfielder) to spread across three midfield positions and only four forwards to form his starting trident for the usual 4-3-3 formation he uses.
This situation opens up the possibility of the 4-4-2 line-up in a diamond formation in which players such as Bellingham or Güler would move play the offensive midfielder position or as a ‘false nine’. It is still too early to give a precise opinion on this experiment, but it is quite different from Ancelotti’s usual approach.
Carletto has innovated successfully in the past (like the experiments of Camavinga as a left-back or Valverde as a right winger), but he will have to work a lot with the team to make a system without a real striker work as the main alternative next season.
Main image: @realmadrid.
Translated by Marcos Rodríguez.
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