Real Madrid are more than well-stocked in midfield. In addition to the famous trio of Luka Modric, Casemiro and Toni Kroos, they can also field another midfield of the most exciting young talents in Europe, with Fede Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni. And that’s without mentioning Dani Ceballos.
The 25-year-old has a year left on his contract and Real Madrid are looking to sell him on, should they get a fee of between €12m and €15m, as per Diario AS. Despite links to hometown club Real Betis, there have been no serious offers for him though.
Real Madrid are also happy to hang onto him and to that effect, Carlo Ancelotti will sit down with him and try to persuade Ceballos that given the six competitions Los Blancos are in, he will have sufficient game time. The Italian manager is a fan, even if he has been unable to provide Ceballos with many minutes so far.
Ceballos has one target firmly in his mind though: the 2022 World Cup. The Andalusian still believes he can force his way into Luis Enrique’s squad if he can acquire the minutes. Thus Ceballos must decide whether to try and force a move or take Ancelotti at his word.
From the outside, it seems difficult for Ancelotti to make good on his promise. In addition to the competition for places at Valdebebas, Luis Enrique has consistently picked those he believes in, but Ceballos will need to give the national team manager something to believe in. Given the competition for places in midfield which has seen Thiago Alcantara miss out of squads, Ceballos will have to pull out an electric three months of football to make it into the squad.
