Jose Mourinho has not spent the summer giving too much away about his preferred Real Madrid XI.
Pre-season minutes have been shared, experiments have been made, and several players have been given the chance to stake their claim.
But beneath those changes, a hierarchy is already beginning to emerge.
According to AS, four outfield players have established themselves as Mourinho’s untouchables, namely, Yan Diomande, Vinicius Jr., Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe.
Add Thibaut Courtois, the undisputed No. 1, and the new Real Madrid manager already appears to have the spine of his strongest team in mind.
Mourinho’s Real Madrid attack has its hierarchy
The interesting part is that Mourinho has reached this conclusion without heavily relying on his biggest names during pre-season.
Mourinho has four untouchables at Real Madrid. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
Diomande, Bellingham and Mbappe have each made just one appearance, while Vinicius featured three times across Real Madrid’s four pre-season matches.
Their limited minutes, however, have not changed their place in the manager’s thinking.
For what it is worth, the pre-season preparation has been used to assess alternatives, not necessarily to decide who Mourinho trusts most.
The manager has already seen enough of his key players and appears to have entered the new campaign with a clear attacking group in mind.
Mbappe is expected to remain the central reference point in attack, while Vinicius provides one of the team’s most dangerous outlets from the left. Diomande, Real Madrid’s most expensive signing, is also in Mourinho’s plans, giving the manager another player he sees as central to the new-look frontline.
Then there is Bellingham.
Bellingham will compete with Arda Guler. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
His place may be the most interesting because Real Madrid now have a player pushing hard for the same role.
Guler has impressed, but Bellingham is the first choice
Arda Guler has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Real Madrid’s pre-season preparations.
The Turkish international has started all six matches and registered two assists, making a strong impression in the attacking midfield role.
It is a position where he has looked increasingly comfortable, operating between midfield and attack and getting closer to the forwards.
Mourinho has clearly found a role that suits Guler, but the problem for the 21-year-old is that the same position is expected to belong to Bellingham when the Englishman is fully available.
Simply put, Guler’s opportunities in that advanced role will largely depend on the minutes Bellingham leaves available.