Real do not buy Mbappe this summer
In the press conference before the opening match of La Liga against Bilbao, when asked about the possibility of Real signing a striker before the end of the transfer window, Ancelotti replied: "I don't think so. Real score many goals. and created a lot of opportunities in pre-season. I think Real's attack is really good."
The Italian coach then praised rookie Joselu for playing well and being dangerous in the penalty area. The striker joined Real on loan from Espanyol, one of the three teams relegated in La Liga from 2022 to 2023, as a solution to replace captain striker Karim Benzema. Joselu left an impression with a crouching phase to seal a 2-0 victory over Man Utd in a friendly match in Houston on July 27.
Ancelotti also emphasized that he is not worried about scoring, saying that Vinicius, Rodrygo, Joselu, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde or Toni Kroos all have the ability to finish well. In addition, central defenders like Eder Militao or Antonio Rudiger can all open fire when participating in the attack in fixed situations.
This statement from Ancelotti means Real will not negotiate to recruit Kylian Mbappe in the last three weeks of the transfer window. After refusing to activate the extension until June 2025, the French striker was removed from the first team by PSG and put on the transfer floor. However, Real do not want to spend more than $ 100 million to buy a player with only one year of contract left.
Ancelotti sees Real's main problem in pre-season as defence. The royal team only kept one clean sheet - a 2-0 victory over Man Utd. The rest, they won 3-2 Milan, lost Barca 0-3 and Juventus 1-3.
Things are more serious when the number one goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during training on August 10 and is likely to have to miss the end of the 2023-2024 season. Therefore, Andriy Lunin will start in the opening match of La Liga today.
Ancelotti affirmed to put all his faith in Lunin and praised his students as a young, potential but inexperienced goalkeeper - which will gradually be overcome if he plays a lot in the near future. The Italian coach even left open the possibility of not recruiting a famous goalkeeper, but signing a contract with a goalkeeper to be a double assistant for Lunin.
Regarding Real's squad next season, Ancelotti analyzed: "Through pre-season, Real can play in different ways, with different systems. We operate on a diamond scheme, it works. good in some areas and not so good in others, like defence, we won't just use this one system Real can play 4-3-3 with a striker in, or 4-2-3 -first".
Among Real's rookies, Jude Bellingham - a midfielder recruited with a transfer fee of 110 million USD and $ 32 million in extra fees depending on the performance from Dortmund - received the most expectations. Ancelotti assessed that the English player can play well in central midfield, but can be more dangerous when playing in a higher position, often entering the penalty area and exploiting space.
