With numerous midfield absences, Mourinho is considering fielding young players in the starting lineup against Inter.

Estévez or Sergio Martínez could be the biggest surprise in Real Madrid's starting XI at the Bernabéu in their Champions League debut against Inter next Tuesday. Either option could see one of these Real Madrid Castilla players become the first young talent Mourinho gives a chance to in an official match since his second arrival at Real Madrid.

The first reason is that Mourinho will face a severe midfield shortage for this European match, with only Valverde available. Bernardo Silva, Camavinga, and Güler are out through suspension, while Tchouaméni and Pitarh are injured. The latter two have already trained with the squad, but barring unexpected developments, they are unlikely to start and their availability off the bench is also in question. Five missing midfielders make the situation critical.

The second reason is that Mourinho personally watched both Estévez and Sergio play in Saturday's Castilla match. Estévez played the first half while Sergio came on as a substitute in the second. Neither played extensive minutes, precisely to prepare for Mourinho's final decision on who will partner Valverde in midfield. Both young players impressed the Portuguese coach in that match. Estévez helped the reserve team take the lead with a brilliant goal and dominated the midfield. Sergio Martínez made an impressive debut, playing convincingly and displaying strong individual qualities.

The Estévez option

The plan for both is clear: they are candidates to face Inter. Now Mourinho must decide between two approaches: the first is to immediately field Estévez or Sergio Martínez while trying not to disrupt the team's rhythm too much. The second is to "change the system," reshuffling players to solve the problem without placing the heavy responsibility of such a demanding match directly on a young player.

If Mourinho opts for one of the two young players, the scales could tip toward Estévez. This midfielder has been with the first team throughout preseason and is well integrated into Real Madrid's rhythm. Last season, he began playing for the senior team, appearing in 5 matches across the league, Champions League, and Copa del Rey, with 1 start. He was a key midfielder for Real Madrid Castilla, playing an important role under both Arbeloa and Julián López del Lerma. In his youth career, he also featured in playoff matches for promotion and Real Madrid's run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Youth League, gaining high-intensity competitive experience. Transfermarkt data shows he is currently the most valuable young player in La Fábrica, valued at 7 million euros. Arbeloa even highlighted him in Lisbon. At the time, as Real Madrid Castilla's coach, he said last October: "Real Madrid Castilla is the team of Manuel Ángel and Palacios, as well as Estévez. I think he is currently the best number 6 in Spain." This player, along with Pitarh, was one of the biggest surprises in Arbeloa's project, and he is gradually opening doors at Real Madrid's reserve team. For this reason, Mourinho has kept him close since day one of preseason preparations.

Banking on Sergio Martínez

Sergio Martínez has made a huge impression, and expectations around him are very high. This young midfielder has already shown considerable ability and quickly earned praise. Real Madrid Castilla's coach said after his debut last Saturday: "The 45 minutes he played showed his level, ability, potential, and especially his character. To play like that, barely knowing your teammates... We are very pleased with him, and we know he can help us greatly this season." This young player initially played in La Liga for Racing Santander this season, and in the previous season accumulated over 300 minutes in Segunda Division, already having experience in high-level matches. However, being new to the club works against him. He has been at Valdebebas for only a week and is still adapting. Both in terms of playing time and integration into the training process, he is not yet at Estévez's level, should Mourinho decide to use a young player.

Bellingham, Trent, Haysen...

Beyond these two young talents, Mourinho has few options to restructure midfield with so many absences. The most straightforward and nearly only sensible solution is to drop Bellingham deeper, pairing him with Valverde. This would free the attacking midfielder position originally held by the Englishman, as well as Güler's role in the team's standard 4-2-3-1, giving the manager more options in the attacking midfield line. Brahim, Diomandé, and Éspí could be deployed to compensate for the serious problem caused by five missing midfielders.

If alternative solutions are used, this means changing the formation. For example, on the right flank, Dumfries and Trent could both stretch wide, with the Englishman acting as a third midfielder alongside Valverde and Bellingham, while Brahim or Éspí would push into the attack alongside Vinicius and Mbappé. This would amount to shifting to a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 to accommodate these new elements. The final and most radical option would be to move Haysen into midfield. Haysen is comfortable on the ball and possesses excellent physical attributes. The center-back pairing would then be Rüdiger and Konaté, needing only to fill the void left by Güler with the aforementioned attacking options.

Переведено ИИ.

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