There is much to be excited about, with the Italian coach hinting that Kylian Mbappé’s impending arrival in Madrid will not affect his star winger’s role.
What impact Mbappé joining Real Madrid will have on the club’s remaining attacking stars has of course long been a hot topic of conversation at the Santiago Bernabéu.
With the Frenchman expected to put pen to paper with Los Blancos at any moment, a big move could be on the horizon at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s latest comments on his plans for Vinícius Jr. attracted widespread attention today, Sunday February 25.
However, one member of Real’s frontline, who seems unlikely to be moved in the club’s XI, is the aforementioned Vinícius.
With the Brazilian and Mbappé both favoring the left wing to create their transitions, there have been suggestions in the media that Vinícius could find himself moved to the right, or even is on the bench, when the PSG star lands in the Spanish capital this summer.
However, speaking at today’s press conference, coach Carlo Ancelotti seemed to rule out that possibility when confirming his intention to put Vinícius on the field “where he feels most comfortable”:
“I think Vini can fit inside, not as a central striker but with a pair of strikers, but I think we have to take into account that he is very comfortable playing on the wing. He has improved a lot in that he sometimes drops much deeper to find space in central areas. I want to put a quality player like him in the position where he feels most comfortable, which is the left wing.”
At the beginning of the season, there were many doubts when Real Madrid did not have a true central striker in the squad, except for Joselu who was loaned from Espanyol. However, coach Ancelotti arranged a “unlike any other” squad when Bellingham played high like a false number 9 and as a result, Real Madrid still played well.
Now people are having a headache guessing how the Italian coach will line up when Mbappe plays in the same position as Vinicius. However, in history there is no shortage of cases where Real Madrid turned players into stars when playing out of position, such as Modric, Kroos, Bale and most recently Camavinga and Tchouameni.