Real Madrid superstar’s role in doubt after team finds working combination | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s results in recent games have been positive and come as a relief to Alvaro Arbeloa whose team looked to be drowning when they fell flat-faced against Benfica on the final match-day of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase.

Coincidentally, the team’s positive spell has coincided with the injury of their star player Jude Bellingham who was injured early in the game against Rayo Vallecano and has not featured ever since.

Playing without the Englishman for over 80 minutes on the night, Real Madrid secured a win on the night and have gone on to win all three games since that game as well.

A massive dilemma

While correlation does not imply causation, there is no doubt that Real Madrid’s midfield has looked very fluid in recent games compared to how it was even a month ago. 

As relayed by AS, Los Blancos realise that Arda Guler, Eduardo Camavinga, and Aurelien Tchouameni are doing well as a trio and complementing each other’s profiles better with every passing game.

Bellingham is currently injured. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

The past few games have given the club enough signs to appreciate that it is a working combination. Yet, it also leaves them in a tricky situation with Bellingham and how to handle the case once he is back.

As a signing brought in for over €100 million, it is impossible to contemplate a scenario in which he is kept on the bench and brought in as an impact player. Yet, they are aware that he has not quite hit his level this season.

There are doubts over Bellingham’s integration with the team ever since he was taken out of the false 9 role that he was initially handed. Moving to a deeper role, he has not stood out nor integrated well with his partners.

For the time being, the manager can continue to utilise the working combination of Guler, Camavinga, and Tchouameni, but there is no hiding from the eventual dilemma of how to accommodate Bellingham. The question will arise sooner rather than later.