Today Real Madrid start the season and activity returns to Valdebebas under the guidance of Xabi Alonso, the new coach. Although expectations are high, there are also authoritative voices already raising concerns.
Not from the locker room, but from the most Madridist circles. Not just any voice.
Tomás Roncero, a journalist who is a standard-bearer for the white supporters, has admitted on El Larguero of Cadena SER that he doesn't see the team's direction clearly.
The concern isn't focused on the attack or the goalkeeping. His worry is in the midfield, and it has a name: Toni Kroos.
Kroos left... and no one has arrived to replace him
The German, one of Real Madrid's great pillars over the past decade, hung up his boots after the European Championship. His farewell was an emotional, technical, and structural loss for the team.
That's the problem. Because, according to Roncero, "his natural heir" still hasn't been signed.
Neither Tchouaméni, nor Camavinga, nor Valverde fit that profile. Ceballos isn't in Xabi Alonso's plans, and Modric is also no longer with the white squad.
"It's true that I'm worried," Roncero confessed to Manu Carreño. "Someone needs to be brought in who can provide clean ball distribution, who can organize. We're missing that conductor."
Xabi asks for a signing... but the club hesitates
Internally, Xabi Alonso has also hinted at the need to strengthen that area of the field. He has given names, although the club is being cautious. There's no rush or total consensus.
The idea was to wait for a market opportunity. But with the season already underway, with inconsistent feelings in the first friendlies, some believe the time to act has come. Quickly.
Only Rodri's name, the current Ballon d'Or winner, brings unanimity around him, but even so, the Madrid-born midfielder is coming off a long-term injury.
"I check with all Madridists and everyone tells me the project looks very good, but that we're missing a midfielder," Roncero insists.
He adds: "Everyone agrees there's no one with the profile of Kroos and Modric. That's going to be missed."
A gap that needs to be filled
We have a lot of muscle and energy in midfield, but we're missing a conductor with authority.
I think that could cause us a handicap. Because Güler is an experiment that could work against lesser opponents. It was already seen in big matches against Barça or PSG, that he's outmatched.
In the end, we could fall a bit short even though the transfer market has been quite good. For it to be excellent, that midfielder is missing."
Without Kroos and with Modric gone, that balance has been lost. Although the squad remains competitive, there's a gap that no one has filled.
As of today, there's no natural successor to the German. That, beyond the noise, could be the real problem.