Real Madrid summer arrival no longer an ‘untouchable’ in the lineup – report | OneFootball

Real Madrid splashed a sizeable sum of €50 million in the summer to re-sign former academy talent Alvaro Carreras from SL Benfica.

With Ferland Mendy’s injury woes and Fran Garcia not stepping up as expected, Los Blancos saw the position as in need of reinforcements and went after the Spaniard’s signing aggressively.

Immediately after his arrival, Carreras become a permanent fixture in the starting lineup under previous boss Xabi Alonso, delivering consistent performances, albeit one or two missteps along the way.

No longer untouchable

While things started similarly for Carreras under new head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, AS reports that the 22-year-old left-back has now lost his ‘untouchable’ status in the Real Madrid starting lineup.

He had been seated at the table of the ‘untouchables’, those Arbeloa wants always on the pitch, a group completed by Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe.

No longer undroppable. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

All of them had played every minute under the new coach when fit and available, from Albacete onwards. Until the match against Rayo Vallecano, when things changed.

The defeat to Benfica, in which Carreras’ performance left a lot to be desired, saw Arbeloa bench him against Rayo this weekend, with Eduardo Camavinga getting the nod as the starting left-back.

While it might have been seen as simple rotation, the report states that Carreras has lost credit under the new manager and is no longer seen among the untouchables. His starting status is now governed by his form and performances.

So far in his debut season, Carreras has made 28 appearances across all competitions, registering one goal and assist apiece. The Spaniard must now fight hard to regain his starting status in the lineup.