According to the latest report from Marca, due to numerous midfielder injuries, Ceballos or Sergio Martinez have become José Mourinho's starting options for the match against Inter.

It is reported that in the first round of the Champions League this week against Inter, Ceballos or Sergio Martinez could be a major surprise in Real Madrid's starting lineup. The main reason is that José Mourinho has very few available midfielders, and the only fit natural midfielder available is Valverde.

Bernardo Silva, Eduardo Camavinga, and Arda Güler are absent due to suspension, while Aurélien Tchouaméni and Pitarch are sidelined with injuries. The latter two have returned to team training, but barring an unexpected turn of events, they are unlikely to start and may not even make the squad. The absence of five players makes Real Madrid's midfield situation extremely difficult.

The second reason is that in Castilla's match last Saturday, Ceballos played the first half while Sergio came on as a substitute in the second half. Neither played extensive minutes, deliberately to prepare them for José Mourinho's decision on who will partner Valverde in midfield.

Their situation is clear: both are candidates to start against Inter, and now the decision rests with José Mourinho. The first option is to field Ceballos or Sergio Martinez, trying to make minimal changes to the lineup.

The second option is to change the formation and adjust player positions to circumvent this problem and avoid putting the responsibility for such a demanding match on young players. If José Mourinho decides to use one of them, the balance could tip toward Ceballos.

Ceballos has been with the first team throughout the preseason and has fully integrated into Real Madrid's rhythm. Since last season, he has featured in first-team matches, accumulating 5 matches total, including 1 start, across La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey.

Sergio Martinez arrived at Valdebebas just a week ago and is still in the adaptation phase. In terms of playing time and training experience, he will have difficulty outpacing Ceballos when José Mourinho decides who will partner Valverde in midfield.

Beyond these two young players, José Mourinho has few options to reorganize the squad with so many injured midfielders. The most straightforward and almost only solution without requiring too many changes is to drop Jude Bellingham deeper to play alongside Valverde.

This would mean that Jude Bellingham's position in attacking midfield and Arda Güler's position in José Mourinho's standard 4-2-3-1 formation would need to be filled. Brahim Díaz, Yan Diomande, and Éspí could be options to address the midfield crisis.

If other solutions are used, it would mean changing the formation. In this case, there is the idea of two right-backs, with Denzel Dumfries and Trent Alexander-Arnold potentially playing on the right simultaneously. Trent Alexander-Arnold could operate as a third midfielder alongside Valverde and Jude Bellingham in the center.

The last and most radical option is to move Hüysen to midfield. He has good ball control and excellent physical attributes. Rüdiger and Konaté would form the center-back pairing, and José Mourinho would only need to fill the void left by Arda Güler with the aforementioned attacking players.

Переведено ИИ.

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