Real Madrid are still hunting for their lost identity in midfield, and now a voice from inside the white house has spoken up with what he believes is the only solution to the biggest technical crisis the club has faced in years.
"He has earned his place as an indispensable starter." With those words, analyst and former player Alvaro Benito laid out his radical vision for the future of Real Madrid's midfield, making young Turkish star Arda Guler the cornerstone of any project to come.
A chronic crisis
The Spanish giants have carried an obvious hole in midfield for several seasons, never finding a reliable combination to hold the team together and organise the transitions between attack and defence.
Once the legendary duo of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos departed, the club's management reached for patchwork, temporary fixes. None of them worked.
Carlo Ancelotti couldn't make it click. Neither could Xabi Alonso or Alvaro Arbeloa. Even the return of Jose Mourinho, the man many backed to restore the discipline of his first spell, has yet to deliver the magic formula everyone has been waiting for.
Benito settles the debate
Speaking on the latest episode of the famous radio programme "El Larguero", Benito dropped a bombshell by naming his ideal Real Madrid midfield from the resources currently available, singling out the exceptional season Arda Guler is producing.
His tone left no room for interpretation: "For me, Guler is indispensable. I think he has thoroughly earned it. He has earned his place as an indispensable player."
The Spanish analyst's reasoning is simple. Guler is the one exception in a system built entirely on physical strength.
He added: "He gives the game calm and continuity. He reads quick and deep passes, and he is the only player of his kind in midfield."
The Bernardo Silva equation
Guler wasn't the only name Benito put forward. He paired the Turk with one other player he sees as the only man capable of blending with him to create the missing balance.
He continued: "There is another matter, which is that you could leave out Valverde and bring in Bernardo Silva, but this is a problem related to the type of players Real Madrid have in their starting line-up."
For Benito, the root of it is that Real Madrid have only two or three players who can slow the tempo and control possession, while direct players dominate the side.
He explained: "Bellingham is not that type of player. He is characterised by relentless pressing. I get to him, knock him to the ground, then set off. He is a player full of energy, and I think he is a wonderful player, and Mbappe is a tireless and aggressive player, and Diomande as well, and Vinicius as well. Then in midfield, Tchouameni and Valverde as well. They are players with physical strength and directness."
The rescue plan: organising strength through calm
Add two full-backs with the same instinct to that list of direct attackers and, by Benito's reckoning, you get a team charging forward without control.
So the former Real Madrid player lands on two names who can inject calm into the game: Arda Guler and Bernardo Silva. Organise that enormous physical strength through those two, he argues, and Madrid are back in contention.
His analysis finished with a clear message to Mourinho: "Real Madrid are a strong team, and if they organise themselves and make brilliant use of their physical strength, they will be a very strong contender. All the players have enormous physical strength. They are capable of sustained effort, of pressing the opponent face to face, and they must suffocate him. For me, this is the best way to build a competitive team."