There is no doubt that this 2024-25 season has not started in the best fashion for Real Madrid. Eleven games into the league campaign, the Merengues already find themselves six points behind the leaders Barcelona in the La Liga table, and their performances on the pitch have also left a lot to be desired among the fans.
Their latest defeat to Barcelona was the most humiliating, and hopefully, that disaster will push the team to put in more serious performances and get back to their best level going forward into the season.
But amidst all these issues, there is also the issue of the youth players not showing a lot of development since the start of the season, and not getting a lot of opportunities to showcase their talents on the pitch.
As Mundo Deportivo has noted, both Arda Guler and Endrick were expected to get a lot of minutes on the pitch this season. However, this has not been the case up to now.
The Brazilian, who arrived at the Merengue club last summer, has played only 106 minutes this season, which sums up to be slightly more than a single match. These minutes have been spread over 9 matches, in which he also has scored 2 goals, 1 in La Liga and another in the Champions League.
Similarly, the Turk has also not played the minutes that he was expected after his good performances in the last phase of the 2023-24 season. Guler has played only 291 minutes this season, spread over 11 games, despite this being his second full season at Real Madrid.
Thus, Endrick has gone four games without even a single minute on the pitch, while Guler has gone three games without stepping on the pitch. This situation is definitely a worrying one for these players who need more time on the pitch to continue with their development and growth.