When a coach leaves one team to go to another, it's common to see them want to bring players from their former club to their new club to bring a sense of familiarity to their new home. Pep Guardiola brought Thiago with him from Barcelona to Bayern Munich, Erik ten Hag brought a handful of Ajax players with him to Manchester United, and Hansi Flick brought Robert Lewandowski with him to Barcelona. Coaches like the comfort of having players they know to help them find early success at their new club and Alvaro Arbeloa is planning just that as he closes in on his move to Fulham.
As being reported by MadridXtra on X, Alvaro Arbeloa wants to bring some of his Castilla players with him to Fulham should he be appointed as their next manager. Thiago Pitarch, Cesar Palacios, Manuel Angel, and Jorge Cestero are the main candidates he is looking to bring with him to London should a deal with Fulham get over the line in the near future.
Arbeloa looking to reunite with his Castilla products in London
Before being promoted to the head coach of the first team in January of 2026, Arbeloa managed the Real Madrid youth at a number of different levels from U13, U15, U19, and finally Castilla in 2025, even winning a treble with th U19's in the 22/23 season. Arbeloa has a strong understanding and relationship with the young players and we saw that during his brief time in charge of the Real Madrid first team, so it's understandable why he would want to bring some with him to his new job at Fulham.
Arbeloa gave all of Pitarch, Palacios, Angel, and Cestero their first team debuts, with Pitarch in particular being a player he called on a lot during his time in charge, with the 18-year-old making 16 appearances across all competitions under Arbeloa. Palacios got seven first team appearances under Arbeloa, Manuel Angel also seven, and Cestero five, showing the managers trust in the young players he knows best.
With all the players being between the ages of 18-22, they're going to have a tough time breaking into the Real Madrid first team under new manager Jose Mourinho this summer, so from an outside perspective it wouldn't hurt the club to allow Arbeloa to bring these youngster with him to Fulham where they'll get the game time and development that they wouldn't get at Real Madrid.
How much exactly Real Madrid would charge for the bunch remains unknown but given their ages and relatively low market values, a package deal of around €40 million for four players would be a solid deal for Real Madrid if they were able to get it done, giving Arbeloa the help he needs to get off to a solid start in his new home at Craven Cottage.
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