Former Real Madrid midfielder Michel Soldado has offered advice to new Los Blancos manager Xabi Alonso on how best to deploy star midfielder Jude Bellingham next season.
Bellingham, widely regarded as one of the best young midfielders in Europe, showed a different side to his game after signing for Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2023.
During that debut season, the England international racked up an impressive tally of 23 goals across all competitions to help Los Blancos win their 36th and 15th La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles respectively.
However, his contributions were slightly reduced last season with Real Madrid struggling to keep up with their arch rivals Barcelona on the domestic front as Hansi Flick’s men plundered every available trophy in Spain.
Looking ahead to next season, Soldado believes Bellingham can repeat and even perhaps best the exploits of his debut season if Alonso deploys the former Dortmund man in a more advanced position.
“I need Bellingham close to the box. I don’t need Bellingham coming back to receive the ball and to be too much in the build-up,” Soldado said in quotes revealed by GIVEMESPORT.
“He showed in the first year that he is a player with a special smell to go into the box. With Xabi Alonso, I think he is going to play that role.
“I think he is going to be the key player behind Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe. We’re going to see a different Bellingham this year compared to last season. We’re going to see the best version of Bellingham this year, for sure.”
Following Real Madrid’s semi-final exit from the FIFA Club World Cup, Bellingham is expected to undergo a long-overdue surgery on his injured shoulder. For how long that procedure will keep sidelined remains uncertain at the moment.
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