Although all signs indicated that Xabi Alonso had preferred to start his term of office of Real Madrid after the club World Cup, the Basque manager at least got a good look on his side before the summer vacation. It may have caused some damage in the form of a heavy defeat against Paris Saint-Germain, but it has enabled him to speed up the planning process.
Los Blancos moved between a 4-3-3 and a 5-3-2 formation under Alonso in the US, and although the ex-Bayer Leverkusen-Coach has made it clear that it will be flexible, his plan to change shape again will come next season. Diario as an explanation that Alonso weighs a 4-2-3-1 formation, in which Aurelien Tchouameni will fall into the back line to sometimes make five, something he started to do at the Club World Cup.
Perhaps the bigger news, however, is that the new signing Franco Mastantuono has been set for a starting role under Alonso. The Starlet of the river plate will arrive € 63 million in August and Alonso is planning to get to the field. Within those 4-2-3-1, Mastantuono will move in from the right side of those three behind a striker.
The Argentina International will probably also go in the pecking order for Arda Guler, although Jude Bellingham will be out of operation until October after a shoulder operation. A strong show of faith from Alonso.
Mastantuono cannot officially sign for Los Blancos until he is 18, and will therefore only train with his new side on August 14. This weekend he will arrive in the Spanish capital and start his own personal preseason, while taking on life in the season.
With Real Madrid first in action against Osasuna on August 19, Mastantuono will only have four training sessions for the debut of Alonso as a manager at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It seems that Mastantuono will follow the example with the rest of the additives of Real Madrid. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen were starters of the Off Under Alonso during the club World Cup, while left back Alvaro Carreras is also ready to start the season as the first choice on the left. It seems that there will be at least four new faces in Alonso's starting XI.