Real Madrid have named Thiago Pitarch in their first-team squad. He appears with the number 27 shirt on the club's official website, alongside the new signings and their numbers: Bernardo Silva with 20, Cucurella with 17 and Yan Diomande with 25.
According to Spanish newspaper "Marca", the move carries real significance. Pitarch keeps his playing licence with Castilla, yet the Royal Club slotted him into the first-team manager's midfield this morning wearing number 27, a detail worth noting given that every player registered in the first team must wear a number between 1 and 25.
Real Madrid will lean on Pitarch, who earned a bigger role last season under Arbeloa. He started regularly across several stretches of the campaign.
That decision all but rules out signing a defensive midfielder. Rodri, the Manchester City man, is now close to joining Barcelona, while José Mourinho is banking on the academy graduate to ramp up competition and fight for a place in the middle of the park.
Madrid, in fact, refused to loan the player out, as they did with Palacios and Gonzalo. Arbeloa wanted to take him to Fulham, but the Royal Club blocked his departure this time.
