Arda Güler: The Next Mesut Özil in Mourinho's Vision

At Valdebebas, the past is never far away. Especially now that Jose Mourinho is back and staring at Arda Güler as if he’s seen this story before.

The Portuguese coach, according to reports in Spain, wants to drag Real Madrid back towards a more ruthless transition game – the kind that once turned the Bernabeu into a counter-attacking avalanche. The idea is simple, and very Mourinho: unleash the club’s huge attacking potential by giving structure to chaos.

At the heart of it sit two names that echo with history. Kylian Mbappe in the Cristiano Ronaldo role. Arda Güler in the Mesut Özil role.

Güler in the Özil mould

Inside the club, that comparison has been growing for months. Güler arrived from Fenerbahce in 2023 for €30 million with a reputation for vision, disguise and the kind of progressive passing that breaks games open. Spanish media quickly linked him to Özil, and not only because of their shared Turkish roots.

Like Özil, Güler sees spaces before others recognise they exist. He thrives between the lines, slipping passes into gaps that don’t look there from the stands. He can unpick deep, compact defences with a single, decisive ball.

Now Mourinho, the man who once squeezed every drop of creativity out of Özil, is back in charge and reportedly ready to build a structure that makes those qualities central again. The blueprint leans heavily on the understanding Güler had already begun to form with Mbappe at the start of last season. One runner who terrifies defences in behind, one playmaker threading the needle. Madrid have seen that movie before.

A flexible talent waiting for a fixed role

Güler’s first year in Madrid was a lesson in adaptation. He didn’t disappear, but he didn’t quite break through either. The 21-year-old was shuffled across the right wing, dropped into the right half-space, and even used in deeper build-up phases. Each role showed a different side of his game, and underlined his tactical flexibility, but none of them truly belonged to him.

Mourinho, according to Mundo Deportivo, wants to change that. He sees a player whose greatest strengths are combination play and creativity, not a wide runner hugging the touchline. The plan is to give him a clearly defined role that mirrors what Özil once did so devastatingly well: receive between the lines, link quickly, release Mbappe early, punish broken defensive shapes.

Whether Mourinho has already laid out that vision behind closed doors is not yet clear. What is clear is that he is working intensely on the squad structure, and Güler is no longer just another talented option. He is a potential reference point.

Timing that suits Mourinho

The calendar has fallen kindly for both coach and player. Turkey’s early World Cup exit means Güler returns to Madrid without the fatigue of a long international tournament. No emotional hangover, no physical overload.

For Mourinho, that’s gold. It gives him something he rarely enjoys at this level: uninterrupted weeks on the training ground with a key creative player, before the competitive fixtures start to bite. Sessions to drill the patterns, to sharpen that Mbappe–Güler connection, to rehearse the fast, vertical transitions he craves.

For Güler, it’s an opening he has not had since landing in the Spanish capital. A full pre-season, under a coach who has already proved he can build a team around this type of profile. A genuine chance to turn promise into status.

Mesut Özil 2.0 – or something new?

Mundo Deportivo has already labelled the idea “Mesut Özil 2.0”. It’s a catchy tag and an easy narrative. Mourinho back at Madrid, Mbappe as the new Ronaldo, Güler stepping into the old No. 10’s shoes.

The reality will be harsher. Güler still has to prove that he can handle the responsibility that comes with such a role in a squad packed with stars and egos. He has flashed the qualities before; now he must sustain them, week after week, in a system built to amplify them.

Pre-season will tell Mourinho how far that “Özil 2.0” concept can go. Is Güler ready to be the brain behind Mbappe’s fury, the player who turns transitions into goals and half-chances into assists? Or will he remain a luxury option on the fringes of the starting XI?

The answer, over these next few weeks on the training pitches of Madrid, could shape not just Güler’s career, but the entire identity of Mourinho’s second era at the Bernabeu.