Mourinho's Preseason Challenges at Real Madrid

The Mourinho era at Real Madrid has started not with fireworks at the Bernabéu, but with shuttle runs and barked instructions on the pitches of Valdebebas.

Preseason is underway, the World Cup has only just exhaled its final breath, and José Mourinho is already at work with a stripped-back squad, short on stars but long on players who know they are on trial. Those who skipped the World Cup reported back on July 13. The rest will drip-feed into training over the coming weeks, carrying medals, scars, and in some cases, doubts.

Mourinho arrives with a familiar brief: restore standards, restore fear, restore trophies. Two seasons without a major title is an eternity at this club. This summer, reputations will not be enough. Minutes will be earned.

For at least six players, this preseason is not just a warm-up. It is a verdict.

Trent Alexander-Arnold: No More Excuses

Left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup, Trent Alexander-Arnold has had more time than most to think. Now he has to act.

He was among the first back at Valdebebas, thrown straight into Mourinho’s notoriously demanding fitness sessions. His first season in Madrid was fine. No disaster, no triumph. The passing range dazzled at times, the defensive questions never really went away.

Those questions now have sharper edges. Denzel Dumfries has arrived to compete directly for that right-back spot, a player whose profile fits far more neatly into the Mourinho template: aggressive, disciplined, defensively reliable. Mourinho has never had much patience for defenders who switch off or freelance.

Alexander-Arnold does not need to reinvent himself in a month. But he does need to convince a manager who prizes defensive obedience that his qualities with the ball are worth the compromises without it. If he doesn’t, Dumfries is waiting.

Dean Huijsen: Talent vs. Mourinho’s Instincts

Dean Huijsen could easily have been somewhere very different this month. Had Luis de la Fuente made a different call, the young center back might have been preparing for a World Cup final with Spain instead of sweating through double sessions in Madrid.

He was central to Spain’s qualification campaign, only to lose his place in the final squad to Atlético Madrid’s Marc Pubill. That snub stung, but it also brought him straight into Mourinho’s orbit at the perfect time.

Huijsen’s first full season with Madrid mirrored the team’s broader problems in 2025–26: flashes of genuine quality, mixed with shaky moments in big games. The raw materials are obvious. Height, composure, passing ability. A modern center back in theory.

His timing, though, is complicated. The back line is being rebuilt. Ibrahima Konaté, Marc Cucurella and Dumfries have already arrived, and at least one more defensive signing is expected. Mourinho’s history is clear: when in doubt, he trusts experience over potential.

Yet for now, the door is open. Konaté is still on World Cup duty. Éder Militão remains injured. That leaves Huijsen with a rare window: the first preseason friendlies, where he can show he is more than a prospect and force his way into Mourinho’s thinking before the veterans return and the hierarchy hardens.

Eduardo Camavinga: Between Exit Rumours and Reinvention

Eduardo Camavinga is back early too, and not by choice. His omission from France’s World Cup squad was one of the surprises of the summer. It leaves him in a strange limbo.

Once seen as a pillar of Madrid’s future, the Frenchman has stalled. His development has flattened, his role blurred, his influence waned. The result is a player widely linked with a move to England, yet without any serious bid on the table.

For now, he is still here. He wants to stay. The question is whether Mourinho sees a place for him.

This preseason will offer clues. Is Camavinga a starter in a double pivot? A rotation piece? A saleable asset? With several midfielders still away, he has a rare stretch of training sessions and friendlies where every tackle, every press, every forward run will be weighed by a coach who values clarity and reliability above all else.

If he cannot convince Mourinho now, with the competition still on holiday, the path out of Madrid will start to look more defined.

Brahim Díaz: From World Cup Star to Club Question Mark

Brahim Díaz returns from the World Cup with something he has never consistently enjoyed at Real Madrid: the feeling of being a leading man.

For Morocco, he shone. Key in their surge to the quarterfinals, decisive in big moments, trusted when it mattered. At club level, he has never quite escaped the label of squad player, a useful option rather than a guaranteed starter.

That has to change if he is to survive under Mourinho.

Rodrygo Goes is still recovering from an ACL injury, leaving a vacancy on the right flank in the 4-2-3-1 system Mourinho is expected to favour. It is a role perfectly placed for someone with Díaz’s creativity and directness.

He will not be back immediately. After Morocco’s elimination on July 9, he has been granted a short break before joining up with his teammates and new coach. But when he does walk into Valdebebas, the opportunity will be clear. A strong preseason will not just keep him relevant; it could put him in pole position for that right-wing berth when the season begins.

If he drifts, Madrid will look elsewhere. Under Mourinho, passengers do not last long.

Arda Güler: A Promise and a Puzzle

Arda Güler’s World Cup ended early with Türkiye’s group-stage exit. His summer, though, is about to get very serious.

He is expected back at Valdebebas as early as next week. For his country, he is already indispensable. For his club, he is still a question.

Where does he fit in a Mourinho team?

The No.10 role appears locked down by Jude Bellingham, whose status and output make him almost undroppable. A deeper role in a double pivot would demand a level of physicality, defensive discipline and positional rigour that Güler has not yet been asked to show regularly. Playing wide would test his engine and intensity without the ball.

Complicating matters further is the arrival of Bernardo Silva, a player whose work rate, tactical intelligence and versatility seem tailor-made for Mourinho. On paper, that pushes Güler closer to the margins.

There is, though, a counterweight. A report from SPORT claims Mourinho called Güler after Türkiye’s elimination to reassure him of his importance and his belief in the youngster’s potential. That kind of personal touch from this particular coach is not thrown around lightly.

Now Güler must turn that phone call into a place in the team. Preseason will show whether Mourinho’s faith is a long-term investment or a short-term encouragement.

Endrick: Between Hype and Harsh Reality

Endrick arrives in Madrid trailing a cloud of noise. Some call him a generational talent. Others see a social-media creation, more meme than menace. The truth, as always, lies somewhere on the pitch.

His half-season at Lyon was impressive by any measure: 16 goal involvements in 24 games, enough to earn a spot in Brazil’s World Cup squad. On that stage, though, he barely featured, and his limited role only fuelled debate back home, especially after Carlo Ancelotti’s earlier reluctance to trust him fully.

Now Ancelotti is gone. Mourinho is in. And the script resets.

Reports suggest another loan is not on the table this season. That means Endrick will stay, train, and fight for his place in a squad that expects immediate impact from its forwards. He will have to prove he can handle the physicality, the tactical detail, the relentless scrutiny that comes with leading the line – or supporting it – at Real Madrid.

Preseason will not define his career, but it will shape Mourinho’s first impression. At 19, he needs the new manager to see more than potential. He needs to be seen as a weapon.

The World Cup has delayed the full cast from assembling, but the work has already started. Mourinho walks into a club that demands instant success and into a dressing room packed with stories at a crossroads.

For Alexander-Arnold, Huijsen, Camavinga, Díaz, Güler and Endrick, this is not just another July. It is the month that decides whether they become central characters in Mourinho’s Madrid, or footnotes in the next rebuild.