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Early changes for Castilla ahead of next season

Plenty of new recruits for Castilla...

Liverpool FC v Real Madrid - UEFA Champions League Final 2021/22 Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Real Madrid Castilla completed a mediocre campaign last season, but this didn’t stop multiple players being called into first team action to aid Carlo Ancelotti in his selection. Nine players were called into a first team squad, with four making their debuts over the course of the season. This all culminated with Toni Fuidias picking up a Champions League medal for his place in the final squad last week. Now changes are being made early to ensure that the youth team remains an important talent pool for the club next year going into next year.

Real Madrid v Espanyol - La Liga Santander
Mario Gila makes his Real Madrid debut.
Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images

Raúl González and his young side could only muster a 10th place finish in group two of the Primera División RFEF. The talented coach should perhaps have advanced onto his next managerial challenge after his first year in charge - but he instead chose to stay - and as a result looks to have fallen off of the wave of excitement his initial success produced. He now looks set for a third year in charge, which is something that will be discussed in an upcoming Castilla corner. In the meantime, marca are reporting that the club are bringing in reinforcements to strengthen the backroom and coaching roster and assist Raúl on and off of the pitch. The names mentioned are intriguing, as it is not often Real Madrid hire individual's with such job roles. Ernesto Casañ, was the academy director at Albacete Balompié, and will now supposedly come in to carry out a similar job. Francisco de Paula López Martínez has worked at multiple clubs, most recently being the head of academy recruitment for Madrid based side Leganés. It is reported that he landed the Real Madrid job because of his good relationship with current La Fabrica head Manu Fernández.

Closer to the day to day work Raúl will provide on the ground, Luis Gutiérrez will join as a Castilla coach - having worked with Raúl during his time at New York Cosmos. Alain Sola has been with the club for over a year, but will become the new fitness coach for the team. Marcos Jiménez will also arrive, but little is known about his profile or the title he will work under yet. The player base will go through a major shift, but that will happen later in the summer after the players have had a chance to recuperate and give some considerations to the future. A full season review will be released in the near future, so keep an eye out for that to drop. Do you think Raúl should be staying on for a third year with Castilla?

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