21-year-old starlet becomes first Real Madrid World Cup player to return for pre-season | OneFootball

Players in action at the World Cup are given a period of holiday to rest after the marquee tournament before they have to return to club action.

After a gruelling club season followed by an intense international tournament, it is the least that needs to be done to ensure player welfare for the upcoming campaign.

Now, Arda Guler has become the first Real Madrid player involved at the tournament in North America to return for pre-season, giving Jose Mourinho another important option.

The Turkish midfielder reported back to Valdebebas on Monday and immediately began work under Mourinho after completing his medical checks.

Guler begins work under Mourinho

His return is significant because it gives Mourinho an early opportunity to work with one of the most technically gifted players in the squad.

Guler’s role next season will be closely watched, especially as the Portuguese coach begins shaping his preferred squad hierarchy and tactical structure.

The Turkish international is the first of Madrid’s World Cup participants to rejoin the group, following his team’s early group-stage exit at the tournament.

Federico Valverde, Antonio Rudiger and Denzel Dumfries are among those expected to follow in the coming days.

An important pre-season for Guler

For Guler, these first sessions could be valuable.

Mourinho is still assessing his squad, and pre-season often provides players with an important chance to establish trust before competitive matches begin.

The midfielder offers creativity, quality between the lines and the ability to influence games in the final third.

Back for pre-season. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

The key question will be how Mourinho plans to use those qualities within a team that already contains significant competition for attacking and midfield positions.

That competition should not be viewed negatively.

At Real Madrid, places are earned, and Guler now has the opportunity to show the new coach exactly where he can make the biggest difference.

Real Madrid’s squad starts coming together

As more internationals return, Mourinho will gradually be able to work with something closer to his full group.

Guler’s return is the first useful step. This is going to be a difficult pre-season for any manager, let alone someone who is just taking over at the club.

It could be a while before the entire first-team contingent is available for Jose and, until then, he will have to make do with the players at his disposal.

There is a lot of excitement about how Los Blancos will look under the storied Portuguese manager, and it remains to be seen how he gets the best out of Guler and company in the coming weeks.