AS: Real Madrid will re-sign Nico paz next year; Chema will replace Ceballos

Xabi's starting eleven in the Clásico was the youngest in two decades, with an average age of 25 years and 15 days, and it reaffirms the club's plan, which wants more: Nico Paz, Chema, Joan Martínez...

Youth in charge. It doesn't matter that it's a match that's a juggernaut due to the pressure it exerts on its protagonists. Real Madrid has entrusted itself to a group of footballers whose average age is just 25 years and 15 days. That's what Xabi Alonso fielded in the recent Clásico, delighted to be a springboard for the youngsters. The youngest starting lineup in a match against Barça in the last twenty seasons...

In these last two decades, the manager who had taken the most risks in this regard was Pellegrini in 2009-10, when he opted for a starting eleven with an average age of 25 years and 72 days. The Chilean didn't fare as well as Xabi, because they lost 0-2... with Xabi on the pitch (at 28 years old, by the way). But that's the past; the present seems much brighter. Among other reasons, because much of this new generation of young talent isn't just filler, it has immense potential. Whether it's Huijsen (20 years old), Carreras (22), or Güler (20), their growing importance—especially in playmaking—goes hand in hand with the already superstar status of Bellingham (22). They're younger than several of the Castilla players, to put things in perspective.

Statistics aside, this current Real Madrid isn't just window dressing, or even a facelift. It's the culmination of a process the club has strategically developed. They established a policy of taking risks with young players, signing an 18-year-old talent for the first team for three consecutive years, as they did with Güler, Endrick, and now Mastantuono (who could have lowered the average age of players in the Clásico even further had he started). The other strategy was to simultaneously accelerate the mass exodus of veteran players from the Bernabéu over the last three years, even though most of them are legends. In the summer of 2023, Benzema (35), Hazard (32), and Casemiro (31) left. Just before the 2024-25 season, Kroos, Nacho, and Joselu, all 34, followed suit. Three and a half months ago, after the Club World Cup, it was Modric (39) and Lucas Vázquez (34) who departed.

The desire to lower the average age of the squad, and especially the starting eleven, is evident when comparing other recent Real Madrid teams. For example, the untouchables of the 2016-17 side that won the La Liga and Champions League double under Zidane. Keylor, Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Bale, Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo had an average age of 28.1 years, three years older than the current squad...

It's the second youngest squad in La Liga, with an average age of 25.9 years, tied with Real Sociedad, and only surpassed by Barcelona (25.5). At the other end of the spectrum is Rayo Vallecano (29.1), the only squad just months shy of turning 30. Real Madrid has been preparing to manage increasingly less experienced dressing rooms, and the ever more complex and specialized coaching staffs contribute to this. For example, Xabi Alonso brought Alberto Encinas from Bayer Leverkusen because of his ability to implement professional methodology with the team's youngsters, just as he did at the Aspirin club.

This is a Real Madrid of the future, where, apart from the still-unresolved issue of Vinicius Jr.'s contract renewal, all the youngsters will be under the Real Madrid roof for a long time.

There are five players aged 22 or younger who will be under contract with the club at the Santiago Bernabéu when the third decade of this century begins. Huijsen, Gonzalo, and Endrick are under contract until 2030, while Carreras, Mastantuono, and Asensio are tied down until 2031. Two other very important players in that age range, Bellingham and Güler, signed until 2029...

The point is that this idea of injecting more and more young blood continues, in Real Madrid's eyes. Moreover, they want to double down. Next summer, as this newspaper reported, they are planning a squad that includes the re-signing of Nico Paz (21 years old) and Chema Andrés (20). They are also planning to promote Joan Martínez (18) to the center-back position to fill the gap that Alaba (33) will leave. And Xabi Alonso could add his own personal touch, because he has been hinting at finally giving Thiago Pitarch (18 years old) his debut. Perhaps being integrated into the first team for the 2026-27 season is still beyond his reach, but it seems that won't be the case for much longer.

Among other reasons, besides his good performance with the Spanish U-20 team in the recent U-20 World Cup in Chile, Thiago has caught the eye of the coach from Tolosa. At the end of August, he confirmed that Thiago would be moving in and out of the first team's orbit. "I didn't know him very well, and I liked him practically from the first day I saw him..."

Thiago's presence, even if occasional, could precede those of Nico Paz, Chema, and Joan. Their situations are more defined for 2026, especially Nico's. Mastantuono's arrival delayed Real Madrid's intention to buy him back by a year. But it won't be delayed any longer. Re-signing him from Como will cost only €9 million, a bargain considering the trajectory the Real Madrid youth product has taken, a full international with Argentina.

An Argentine player is taking a big shot at Italy. The Italian media has reported a desperate offer of €58 million that Inter is preparing to sign him. It's an impossible mission, because Como's hands are tied and the final decision rests with Real Madrid.

The same will happen with Chema Andrés, one of the sensations of the Bundesliga in his mere three months at Stuttgart. In his case, with a buy-back clause of around €10 million (he was sold for €3 million), he is designated to fill the role that Dani Ceballos will vacate next summer.