Arda Güler has forced his way into the heart of Real Madrid. Starved of chances across his first two seasons under Carlo Ancelotti, the Turk has become indispensable to José Mourinho, who now leans heavily on the technical qualities he brings.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Sport", Güler has won over the Real Madrid faithful and, above all, Mourinho himself. He has shown exceptional ability at a club where earning a starting shirt on quality alone ranks among the hardest tasks in football.
The numbers lay bare just how far he has come. He has played 845 minutes across 14 matches this season, placing him among the 10 most-used players under Mourinho. Yet Güler is still among those the coach hooks early, averaging 61 minutes a game.
His most telling figure reveals his importance: he has started 83% of La Liga matches. That confirms him as one of the pivotal pieces in the Portuguese coach's plans, especially after 4 goals and 7 assists.
Booking that place was no simple matter. Everyone agreed on the Turk's merit to start, but the presence of Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé, Bellingham and Diomande turned finding him a spot into a tactical headache.
So Mourinho has shuffled Güler's position more than once this season. He has played behind the forwards, on the right wing, even in a double pivot alongside a more physically imposing partner, all to guarantee the Turk stays on the pitch whatever the role.
Real Madrid have lacked one thing for years, and Güler provides it: a player who can dictate the rhythm of matches and carve out chances for the quick forwards.
In Mbappé he has found an ideal partner. Together the pair have combined for 19 goals through assists traded between them.
That makes Güler the second biggest contributor to the Frenchman's goals since he joined Real Madrid, behind only Vinícius Júnior, who has shared in 20.
The harmony is plain to see. Each man constantly hunts out the other during matches.
Of all the positions Güler has occupied this season, the right wing best explains why Mourinho will not let go of him.
Left-footed, the Turk does not play a conventional right winger's role. He starts his movements from the flank to collect the ball, then drives into the inside spaces where the pitch opens up before him, handing the midfield extra numbers while Fede Valverde takes on the width.
Several tactical gains flow from this. The first clears the space ahead of the right-back to push on and support the attack while stretching the pitch wider.
Güler also hands the team an extra man in central areas, morphing into a second playmaker. He creates an overload between the lines and forces the opponent into a choice: push the holding player up to mark him, or sit back and protect the space around Mbappé.
The third gain is perhaps the most important. From this position Güler reads Mbappé's runs into the diagonal channels, where the Frenchman breaks into the gap between centre-back and full-back, and the Turk slides the ball with his left foot into his path for him to run onto at pace.
These movements alone account for much of the understanding that produced the pair's 19 combined goals.
The comparison with the past is hard to ignore. Mourinho's last pairing with a left-footed player of Turkish origin at Real Madrid, one who could hold the ball and thread the killer pass, was the German Mesut Özil.
Özil joined the Royal Club in 2010 and quickly became the ideal partner for Cristiano Ronaldo, much as Güler has today become a standout foil for Mbappé.
A playmaker who barely needed to run to make his mark, Özil read his teammates' movements before they happened and sent passes into the spaces that let the forwards exploit their pace.
The parallels run deeper than their roles. Özil too liked to break from the right before drifting into central areas.
With Güler, Diomande and Bernardo on the pitch, Real Madrid have hit their best levels this season. Eight consecutive victories prove the point.
Now the call rests with Mourinho. If he is bold enough to leave Vinícius Júnior on the bench, the team may harvest the points that carry them closer to silverware this season.