After some early inconsistency under interim manager Alvaro Arbeloa, Los Blancos have finally been hitting their stride, bagging four straight wins, snatching back first place in La Liga from bitter rivals Barcelona. However, this recent success has come with one superstar absent due to injury, which could effect his future place in the team, and that superstar is Jude Bellingham.
Bellingham went off injured just 11 minutes into Real's 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano on February 1st and is expected to be sidelined for well over a month, closer to two. Many were expecting his absence to be a major blow to the Merengues, but Arbeloa has found a balanced midfield without the Englishman, and as a result, AS is reporting Bellingham could be in serious danger of losing his place and could be closer to the exit door than many think.
Injured Real Madrid superstar really might be headed for the exit door
Bellingham has been linked with a Real exit before, and with the midfielder struggling this season compared to previous seasons, he will start to wonder if a fresh start away from the Bernabeu could be what he needs to get back to his best.
The 22-year-old was linked with both Liverpool and Manchester City the summer he joined Real Madrid, and some believe one or both of those clubs could come back in for the midfielder as they are both looking to rebuild the midfield for the future.
When Bellingham went down injured at the beginning of the month, many believed it would be hard for Arbeloa to replace him in the starting lineup. But to many's surprise, the interim manager has found a balanced midfield trio that has been putting up amazing results in his absence.
Arbeloa has been using a midfield trio of Camavinga-Tchouameni-Valverde with Arda Guler occupying the attacking midfield role infront of them and he seems to have struck gold with his selection. It's got an excellent balance of attacking and defending, almost making many forget Bellingham's absence in the first place.
Football can be such a tedious game at times and when you find what works and what gets you the results you need, changing it could be a disaster, and unfortunately for Bellingham, Arbeloa finding his midfield that is producing results at his expense could ultimately push him out the door. While an exit is extremely unlikely it is still an option, and in the ever changing world of football one thing is for certain and that is that nothing is for certain.