Lopetegui speaks on Vinicius’ future

Vinicius made his Castilla debut against Las Palmas Atlético on Sunday, where he played 73 minutes. While he didn’t score, he showed promise in his first match under the Real Madrid organization.

“He’s part of the squad. When he’s called up he’ll be in with a chance of playing and when he’s not included, he’ll be able to play for Castilla.”

“However, he’ll be training with us on a daily basis. He’s very young and has just arrived in Europe. He’s really keen to learn and we’ve got to give him the time to settle that every player needs. His performance levels in training have been of the highest quality.”

“We’re keeping a close eye on his progress and when we think that the time is right, he’ll be included in the matchday squad.”

Signing Vinicius for €45 million from Flamengo obviously comes with high expectations for the 18 year old. It’s important though that they don’t rush him into the main squad until he is fully ready for it. It’s a good approach by Lopetegui to keep an open mind on Vinicius and include him in the first team when the time seems right to make that next jump.

Lopetegui talks about the goalie situation between Navas and Courtois

Julen Lopetegui was also asked about not starting Courtois again against Girona on Sunday. He gave his thoughts about what might happen in-net going forward.

“I’ve got some really good options in goal and there are no problems in that area. We’ll decide what’s best for each game.”

“There’s great competition and that makes us stronger in the goalkeeping department. I’ve got some thoughts in my mind, but I’m not going to share them.”

”Over the course of the season, I’ll look for solutions to solve the next immediate challenge.”

Navas has done quite well in both his starts this season against Getafe and Girona. He has yet to really show that he should lose his starting spot.

Obviously, the problem comes from the club spending €35 million on a keeper who has just been warming the bench since transferring from Chelsea. And a player of this talent is one you don’t just want to waste as a permanent backup.

It’ll be curious to see what Lopetegui is really thinking about this situation going forward, we might see him alternate keepers for specific opponents in both LaLiga and the Champions League.

Marcelo believes Real Madrid miss Ronaldo

We’ll hear from just about every player in the squad about how Real Madrid will miss Ronaldo going forward, and the latest has been Marcelo.

“He is the best in the world.”

“It’s obvious that you miss playing with him, but Bale and Benzema are really good, too.”

It’s to be expected that not only Real Madrid miss Ronaldo’s presence, but his BFF Marcelo clearly does as well. This must be hard on him as they were always very close and seemed to thoroughly enjoy playing with each other.

Real have done quite well in both of their LaLiga matches so far, taking all 6 points available. Obviously we’ll hear throughout the season, should there be ups and downs, how the club has left a void with Ronaldo gone that they haven’t yet (and perhaps never will) replace.

But, for now, Real have been able to capture two wins in two matches and need to continue to do so moving through the season.