Arbeloa could call up 18-year-old Real Madrid winger for Elche clash | OneFootball

Real Madrid may once again turn to their famous youth academy as preparations continue for the upcoming La Liga clash against Elche.

According to a report from MARCA, Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa has called up promising young winger Dani Yanez to train with the first team. 

The 18-year-old talent took part in the latest training sessions and could now be included in the matchday squad for the upcoming fixture.

It must be noted that Arbeloa has shown a strong commitment to promoting players from the club’s academy, often referred to as La Fabrica. 

With Real Madrid currently dealing with several absences, the need to look toward the academy has become even more important. 

Reports suggest that the squad list for the Elche match could once again be heavily affected by unavailable players, with as many as nine members of the first-team group missing.

Attack is affected

This situation has particularly impacted the attacking department. 

At the moment, Arbeloa only has three natural attacking options from the senior squad available, namely, Vinicius Jr., Brahim Diaz, and Gonzalo Garcia.

Daniel Yanez has trained with the first team/ (Photo courtesy: Real Madrid official website)

Because of these limitations, the coaching staff has been forced to look toward the reserve team for reinforcements.

One player who has frequently been included in recent squads is Cesar Palacios, and he is expected to be called up once again. 

Alongside him, Manuel Angel, Thiago Pitarch, and Diego Aguado, all of whom have been progressing well within the academy system are expected to join him.

Then there is Yanez

However, the main new addition could be Dani Yanez. 

The young winger has trained with the senior squad in the days leading up to the match and is now expected to be part of the extended group available to Arbeloa.

If included in the squad, Yanez would become the 16th academy player to feature in a first-team squad for Real Madrid this season and the eighth youth player promoted by Arbeloa.

Notably, Yanez has already experienced first-team football before, having made his La Liga debut under former manager Carlo Ancelotti.

That appearance came in December 2024 during a league match against Girona, when Yanez was just 17 years old.