A Spanish press report on Saturday revealed how Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho plans to compensate for the collapse of Rodri's transfer from Manchester City to Real Madrid.
According to the Spanish newspaper "AS", Bernardo Silva faces a new challenge at Real Madrid: filling the deep-lying midfield role after Rodri chose to join Barcelona instead.
Rodri made the call himself. Nothing strange lay behind the deal, and Real Madrid accepted his decision naturally after ten days of meetings, calls and a face-to-face encounter with the player.
The rejection landed at the start of this week. From that moment the club returned to its original plan, drawn up alongside Mourinho, which centres on assessing the squad and its reinforcements. Bernardo Silva sits at the top of that list, a player who naturally drifts in from the right and gets close to the opponent's box, yet one who can also make defensive sacrifices and bring clarity to organising play, as he has proven at various stages of his career.
"AS" explained that this does not mean Real Madrid will stop watching the market, but with the arrival of the former Manchester City man, on an explicit request from the coach, the club believes the deep-lying midfield role can be covered, or will at least feature more bodies than last season.
During the first talks between Real Madrid officials and Mourinho, Bernardo Silva's name topped the coach's list.
Bernardo is no specialist in the position, nor does he offer Rodri's traits, but he has played there before, and the coach reckons that, alongside Aurelien Tchouameni, he can help form a starting point for Real Madrid's play.
None of this means the club will turn its back on the market with more than three weeks left until it closes.
Movement is still expected in both directions, but the idea of pushing Bernardo Silva into a deeper role had already been on the table before the team's work began.
When they analyse the market, Real Madrid officials also know there is no other player quite like Rodri. Another opportunity may yet emerge, though, capable of organising play with different characteristics.
Names have circulated in recent months: Adam Wharton, 22, of Crystal Palace, Kees Smit, 20, of AZ Alkmaar, and Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, of Lille.
Real Madrid have monitored all three, and although they are not absolute priorities, they remain on the radar. For now, though, Bernardo Silva is the man tasked with driving the Madrid engine room.