Dani Ceballos may have saved his Real Madrid career.
That’s according to Diario AS, who’ve claimed that the Andalusian has gone from out of favour to a valuable member of the squad. He’s come in and performed well against Osasuna and Espanyol.
And both of those performances came after the 25-year-old admitted he was frustrated with the lack of opportunities given to him by Carlo Ancelotti at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Given his contract is set to end in the summer of 2023, it seemed all but certain he’d be leaving the club during the coming close-season. But now, for several reasons, he could end up renewing.
Los Blancos are keen to bring in Aurelien Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham in the next couple of years, expensive midfielders who’ll command significant salaries. Having a squad player like Ceballos on lower wages could prove to be a real asset.
The key factor, however, is whether Ceballos is content to play that kind of role in a World Cup year. The former Real Betis man wants to make it into Luis Enrique’s La Roja squad for the plane to Qatar later this year but he needs game-time in order for that.
Time will tell, therefore, and one thing for sure is that Ceballos will be keen to put in some impressive performances between now and the end of the season to keep his stock high.
Born in Utrera just outside of Seville, Ceballos came through Betis’ youth system before breaking into their first team in 2014. He signed for Madrid three years later and spent last season on loan in the Premier League with Arsenal.
He has eleven senior Spanish caps to his name to date.
