Dani Ceballos says he wants a Real Madrid stay after spending the last two years on loan.
The midfielder has spent the last two seasons on loan with Arsenal, attempting to impress from afar amid limited opportunities in the Real Madrid midfield.
Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric have left little room for others over recent years, and that saw Ceballos loaned out to get regular minutes.
But after spending so much time away, the now 24-year-old is desperate to prove himself at Real Madrid and to new boss Carlo Ancelotti.
“I really want to win at Real Madrid, I’ll fight to stay here,” he told Diario AS.
“The experience with Arsenal in the Premier League made me stronger, now it’s time to win at Real Madrid”
He added: “It’s clear, I would like to play at Real Madrid. But I have to know what the coach wants and there have to be objectives. But my intention is to play the coming year at Real Madrid.”
Ceballos also spoke about the type of opportunities he could get at the Santiago Bernabeu under Ancelotti and what he has to do to convince the Italian he is worthy of minutes.
“With the arrival of Ancelotti, the span of a midfielder is wide, because he plays 4-3-3 and, at times with one of the wingers coming inside,” he said.
“It is going to depend on my return, of the state of form I am in and the chat that we have pending.
“From there, I want to be of the rest of the options, because what I am very clear about is I want to play and I have to earn it on the pitch to make it difficult for the coach.”
Ceballos did well in his first year on loan at Arsenal but struggled last season amid a difficult season for the Gunners, missing out on European football for the first time in 25 years.
Amid the presence of the three senior figures already mentioned and the return of Martin Odegaard, also from Arsenal, Ceballos does have an uphill battle to impress Ancelotti, and he isn’t helped by the fact he will return late following his Olympics call-up.
