Real Madrid: Possible landing spots for Dani Ceballos

When Real Madrid signed Dani Ceballos back in 2018, I was one of the people that were really interested in the move. He had the talent, obviously, and he also had a few more things that made him such a great player to watch. He had the slight hint of arrogance while playing for Betis, because he knew there was no midfielder in the world that scared or intimidated him. He was like a magician, just doing whatever he likes with his magic wand in the attack.

We didn’t see Ceballos do that at Real Madrid in his first season, though. He didn’t get the opportunities he would’ve liked to make an impact. Zinedine Zidane didn’t really trust him all that much.

Then, Zidane left. Ceballos got more minutes in the 2018-19 season than he did in the previous one. Then, in the season after that, he moved to Arsenal on loan, and stayed there for two years. But, around the midway point, something changed. It felt like Ceballos lost that slight hint of arrogance. The magic wand was nowhere to be found.

Ceballos was inconsistent in his second year at Arsenal. Sometimes, it felt like he was neither here nor there. Arsenal’s schemes, and fell out of favor towards the end of the campaign.

Now, he’s back. Ceballos will be looking for the magic wand again, and he says that he wants to prove to Real Madrid that he still has great potential waiting to be unlocked. But, that really won’t be unlocked at a club like Real Madrid, because he won’t get enough opportunities.

That’s why I think a loan move for Ceballos would be great. It will give him some time to get back into the rhythm of La Liga, and he will get enough chances to prove everyone wrong.

At this point in his career, I just don’t think he’s good enough to play for Real Madrid. Let’s look at the options Real Madrid have in his position: Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Fede Valverde, Martin Odegaard and, — for now — Isco. Who do you see Ceballos getting the nod over? Maybe Isco? That’s really it, in my opinion. Does Ceballos — at this stage of his career — want to be a back-up option, or would he want to start at another club, instead?