The Real Madrid coach says midfielder will be a “very important player” for the club
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has offered high praise for rising star Arda Guler, insisting the young Turkish international is destined to become a key figure at the Bernabeu despite his limited game time this season.
Guler has endured a stop-start debut campaign in Spain following his summer arrival from Fenerbahce, with injuries and competition in midfield keeping him out of the starting 11.
But the 20-year-old’s flashes of quality have not gone unnoticed by his manager, who sees him as central to the long-term plans of the club.
“He has progressed very well. He has become more important,” Ancelotti said during a press conference ahead of Madrid’s La Liga fixture against Celta Vigo.
“In the future he will have even more prominence. He is showing quality and he is having more continuity in the game. I think he’s going to be a fantastic central player, and not just a winger.”
Guler has featured 37 times across all competitions this season, although only 13 of those have come as starts. It has led to rumours linking him away from the club. But Madrid may in fact be in no hurry to part ways with a player they view as one-of-a-kind.
“For the future of Real Madrid, he is going to be a very important player,” said Ancelotti, “because there are not many players of this profile in midfield.”
