Mourinho's Preseason Challenge at Real Madrid
The Mourinho era has begun at Valdebebas, and it already feels different.
Preseason sessions are running under a hard July sun, but Real Madrid’s squad is still only half-built in front of him. World Cup regulars are scattered on beaches and in recovery camps, reporting back in stages after a draining summer. Those who were snubbed or knocked out early are the ones sweating now, trying to win over a manager who has never been shy about making ruthless decisions.
The standards are clear. Two seasons without a major trophy is an intolerable drought at this club. Mourinho has been brought in to change the mood, the mentality, the edge. With a new backroom staff alongside him, including former Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, he is already taking notes on who can live with his demands.
For six players in particular, this preseason is not just a tune-up. It is an audition.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: No Hiding Place
Trent Alexander-Arnold should be in the afterglow of a World Cup summer. Instead, he is among the first back through the doors at Valdebebas, left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad and now staring at a very different kind of test.
His first season in Madrid was… fine. Not disastrous, not spectacular. Some trademark passing, some clever combinations, some lapses that looked all too familiar from his Liverpool days. The doubts about his defending have followed him across the continent and into a club where full backs are expected to be as reliable without the ball as they are adventurous with it.
Now comes Denzel Dumfries, another arrival in a defensive reshuffle that already includes Ibrahima Konaté and Marc Cucurella. Mourinho’s history with full backs is well known: if they do not track, tackle and suffer, they do not play. Alexander-Arnold has the talent to transform Madrid’s right flank. He also has a manager who will not indulge him if he does not buy into the defensive grind.
This summer, there is no England distraction, no excuse. He has Mourinho’s full attention. That can be a blessing or a problem.
Dean Huijsen: Window of Opportunity
Dean Huijsen could easily have been somewhere else entirely this month. Had Luis de la Fuente made a different call, the young defender might still be riding the emotional wave of a World Cup final with Spain. Instead, Marc Pubill got the nod, and Huijsen returned early to a club where nothing is guaranteed.
His 2025–26 campaign mirrored Madrid’s season: flashes of quality, moments of fragility, a sense that something more was possible but never quite realized. The raw materials are there. Size, composure, the ability to step out with the ball. The question is whether that will be enough for a coach who has built his best teams on granite foundations at the back.
Mourinho is not finished reshaping his defence. Konaté, Cucurella and Dumfries have already arrived, and at least one more signing is expected. Experience tends to trump potential in Mourinho’s back lines.
Yet the timing gives Huijsen a sliver of hope. Konaté is still away on World Cup duty. Éder Militão remains injured. In the first few preseason matches, Huijsen will not just be filling gaps; he will be auditioning for a long-term role. If he convinces Mourinho now, the door might stay open. If he wobbles, the club’s transfer plans could quickly push him down the pecking order.
Eduardo Camavinga: At a Crossroads
Eduardo Camavinga is back early too, and not by design. Once seen as one of the pillars of Madrid’s future, he watched this World Cup from home, omitted from France’s plans and linked heavily with a move away from Spain.
Those links have not turned into bids. English clubs have circled, but no one has yet put serious money on the table. The result is a curious limbo. Camavinga is still a Real Madrid player, still only in his early twenties, still blessed with the dynamism that once made him look like a perfect modern midfielder. He is also coming off a spell in which his influence has faded and his role has blurred.
He wants to stay. That much is clear. What is not clear is where Mourinho sees him. As part of a double pivot? As a rotation piece? As a saleable asset if the right offer arrives?
With so many teammates away, Camavinga now has a rare luxury at this level: time on the pitch in front of a new coach, without the usual crowd of established starters. If he can recapture his old intensity and show the tactical discipline Mourinho craves, his Madrid story might yet be rewritten. If not, this preseason could be the beginning of the end for him at the Bernabéu.
Brahim Díaz: From Bit-Part to Leading Man?
For Morocco, Brahim Díaz is a star. He drove their run to the World Cup quarterfinals, taking on responsibility, demanding the ball, playing with the swagger of a man who knows the attack runs through him.
For Real Madrid, he has been something else entirely: useful, lively, but always a step away from being truly central. At 26, “promising” no longer fits. He needs status, minutes, trust.
This summer might be his best opening yet. Rodrygo Goes is still recovering from an ACL injury, leaving a vacancy on the right side of Mourinho’s preferred 4-2-3-1. That flank, in this system, is not just a chalk-on-the-boots position. It is a key outlet, a space for creativity and direct threat.
Díaz will not report back immediately. His World Cup ended only on July 9, and he has earned his rest. But once he walks into Valdebebas, the equation is simple: perform, or watch someone else seize the role he has been chasing for years. If he translates his Morocco form into Madrid white, he can finally shed the “bit-part” label. If he cannot, he risks becoming the eternal squad player at a club that rarely waits.
Arda Güler: Talent in Search of a Role
Arda Güler’s summer was shorter than he would have liked. Türkiye’s group-stage exit means he is expected back at Valdebebas as early as next week, and with it comes the latest chapter in a familiar story: a prodigious talent trying to find his place in a superclub’s hierarchy.
For his country, there is no debate. Güler is central, indispensable, the creative hub. At Madrid, the picture is far murkier. Jude Bellingham has effectively nailed down the No.10 role, the space in which Güler’s gifts shine brightest. Mourinho’s likely 4-2-3-1 raises another question: can the 21-year-old adapt to a deeper midfield role in a double pivot, with all the defensive responsibility that entails? Or does he have the engine and physicality to operate wide, tracking full backs and fighting in transition?
Complicating matters is the arrival of Bernardo Silva, a player whose work rate, tactical intelligence and versatility fit neatly into the Mourinho template. On paper, that signing squeezes Güler’s options even further.
There is, though, a flicker of reassurance. One report from SPORT claims Mourinho called Güler after Türkiye’s elimination, offering personal backing and a vote of confidence. That kind of gesture matters. The question now is whether that faith translates into minutes and a defined role, or remains a kind word before hard choices are made.
Endrick: Hype, Doubt and a Defining Summer
Few players in world football split opinion like Endrick. To some, he is a generational prospect. To others, he is still more social-media phenomenon than finished product. The truth, as always, lies somewhere between the extremes.
What is not in doubt is his output at Lyon: 16 goal involvements in 24 games in half a season is serious production for a teenager. It earned him a place in Brazil’s World Cup squad, a badge of honour at 19. Yet back at Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti largely looked past him, a decision that sparked a mix of frustration and schadenfreude in Brazil.
This season, the plan appears different. Reports suggest Madrid do not intend to send him on another loan. He will stay, train, and try to carve out a real role in the first team. That brings its own pressure. Where does he fit in a squad loaded with attacking options? As a central striker? As a second forward drifting into pockets? As an impact substitute?
For Endrick, preseason is not just about goals. It is about convincing Mourinho that he is more than a storyline, that his movement, his work rate, his decision-making can anchor a place in a squad built to win now. If he can do that, he might finally become what many in Brazil always insisted he was. If he cannot, the debate around him will only grow louder.
The World Cup has delayed the full reunion at Valdebebas, but it has also created a rare window. Before the superstars return and the hierarchy hardens, Mourinho has a close-up view of those still fighting for status. For Alexander-Arnold, Huijsen, Camavinga, Díaz, Güler and Endrick, these weeks will not just shape their preseason. They could define their Real Madrid careers under a manager who has never been afraid to make up his mind early and live with the consequences.
