Now that Carlo Ancelotti has officially been appointed as the successor to Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, his thoughts will have turned to the task at hand according to Diario AS. The Italian veteran has fires to put out; there are several issues he’ll have to address immediately, fundamental questions he’ll have to answer to set the tone for his reign.
Isco is one. The Andalusian fell out of favour last season under Zidane, but enjoyed the best spell of his career under Ancelotti. He told the club he wanted to leave last winter, but could be revitalised by the Italian. There’s also the issue at centre-back; David Alaba’s just arrived, but Raphael Varane is thinking about leaving while Sergio Ramos’ future is also up in the air. Ancelotti will need all his famed diplomacy skills to navigate that.
There’s also the need to utilise the cantera. Antonio Blanco and Miguel Gutierrez played important roles in the back end of last season, and could save Madrid significant money in the transfer market. Ancelotti will need to see how he feels about their continuity in the first team squad as well as other youngsters on the cusp of breaking through. Similarly, he must decide the destiny of the significant batch of players the club have out on loan.
Two massive problems for the club at the moment are Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale. Both earn huge sums but provide very little value on the pitch; Madrid are hoping both can enjoy profitable European Championships with Belgium and Wales, respectively, and either return to the Spanish capital revitalised or able to command a decent fee in the transfer market. There’s also Kylian Mbappe; he’s the club’s number one target this summer, and if he comes it will be essential Ancelotti can build a team that will be able to get the very best out of the promising Frenchman.
