Mourinho wanted Alexander-Arnold as midfield organizer before Rodri arrived

On August 3rd, according to "AS", before Rodri joined, Mourinho wanted Alexander-Arnold to act as a midfield organizer.

An hour before the friendly match between Real Madrid and Fiorentina in Austria, the starting lineup announced to the media was accurate: Alexander-Arnold played at right-back, while Dumfries made his debut as a winger in front of him. But behind this personnel arrangement lay Mourinho's tactical plan—one that was not fully revealed until the whistle blew: Mourinho wanted to deploy an additional midfielder in attack, and that midfielder was Alexander-Arnold. As the game unfolded, the English player showed he now possesses a "triple threat": he remains a right-back, demonstrates exquisite footwork from set-pieces, and has now unlocked a new role as an attacking organizer.

The full scope of Mourinho's tactics was only revealed after Endrick scored to make it 1-0. At that point, he called Alexander-Arnold to the bench and spent 1 minute and 29 seconds giving him instructions on how to use penetrating passes to "precisely stab through" the defense. Defensively, Alexander-Arnold was the right-back; but once Real Madrid controlled possession, he would tuck inside into midfield, offering a broader vision than Valverde, not to mention Camavinga, who was once again in a slump.

Placing Alexander-Arnold in midfield was partly intended to tap into his versatile attributes and partly exposed Mourinho's practical needs: he required a player with stronger organizational skills to control the ball in midfield, a role that neither Valverde nor Camavinga could fulfill. Clearly, this commander-like quality of acting as a "pivot" and controlling the pace of the game is Rodri's hallmark.

As "AS" previously reported, although the Real Madrid president gave the green light to sign Rodri earlier this week, the deal has now been temporarily put on hold. The club is fully focused on finalizing Diomande's transfer and will then proceed with the signing of the world champion midfielder. Man City is in no hurry to sell, and Rodri himself realizes that the deal has taken a turn. Meanwhile, Mourinho is not sitting idly by – he never waits, instead finding solutions within the existing squad at the Valdebebas base. Until Rodri's transfer is settled, Alexander-Arnold is one of his answers.

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