Former Real Madrid defender Rafael Alkorta has fired a clear warning at the club's management and coaching staff: reinstating Vinícius Júnior to the starting line-up could undo all the progress the team has made.
Alkorta's comments landed after Real Madrid's latest win, this time away at Racing. The victory only hardened his conviction that a genuine revolution is under way in the Merengue dressing room.
Speaking in his analysis on "Cadena SER" radio, Alkorta said: "At last we can talk about a team. In the past two seasons, Real Madrid were not a team, just a collection of talented individuals."
He added: "When you have brilliant individual players and manage to get them to play as a single system, you become able to compete for everything, and it seems José Mourinho has finally succeeded in building a cohesive team with an identity we had missed for years."
Doubts over Vinícius: a mental crisis, not a physical one
Beyond the praise for the collective work, Alkorta paused on the biggest question mark hanging over Real Madrid's new project. What to do with Brazilian star Vinícius Júnior.
His doubts about whether Vinícius can fit into the new system run deep. "I have many doubts about Vini," he said. "The problem is not physical at all, it is purely mental. He will be an indispensable player in some matches, but I doubt his mental readiness to make the sacrifices and perform the tactical roles that Diomande carries out."
Alkorta went on: "If he wants to get back on the right track and reclaim his place, he must make twice the effort and improve many aspects of his performance."
A complicated situation: will he accept the role of substitute?
Journalist Antón Meana backed that view. He reckons the Brazilian's situation has shifted entirely. "Vinícius's situation is not hopeless, but it has become very difficult," he explained. "His standing within the team has changed completely."
Fellow journalist Antonio Romero highlighted the huge impact of new arrival Yan Diomande and posed the most controversial question of all. "Diomande is an exceptional player," he said. "He has improved the performance of the entire team, and even Cucurella has looked better alongside him."
Romero continued: "We are talking about Vinícius, the second most expensive player in the team, who recently renewed his contract. Will we see him as a permanent substitute? I used to rule out that idea completely, but now I have changed my mind. He has to work hard because Diomande is the undisputed starter."
His warning ended on a firm note, with Romero stressing that Mourinho would not gamble with what he has built. "I find it very hard to imagine Mourinho changing the line-up in the big matches to play with three forwards in order to please any player, because such a decision would undo all the progress that has been made."