Real Madrid instruct Xabi Alonso to use teenage defender next season

During Carlo Ancelotti’s tenure, Real Madrid often overlooked emerging talent from La Fabrica for the first team, but things could be set to change now that Xabi Alonso has taken charge at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ancelotti regularly overlooked the club’s young talent even in injury crises, apart from when he called up Raul Asencio during the final season at Real Madrid. But with the new era having now started at Los Blancos, there are chances for La Fabrica talents to impress new head coach Alonso.

And one of those who is pencilled in for a promotion to the first team is Joan Martinez, as reported by Diario AS.

Martinez made waves when he was called up for Real Madrid’s pre-season tour of the United States last summer, and in high-profile friendlies, he impressed. But he was unable to be involved in the first team after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during a training session in August.

Since then, he has been working his way back to the full fitness, which he is now close to. And the idea is for him to be Real Madrid’s sixth centre-back for the 2025-26 season, behind Dean Huijsen, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Asencio and David Alaba.

Depending on the system that Alonso uses, Martinez could see a considerable amount of playing time next season. The 43-year-old used three centre-backs at Bayer Leverkusen, but the expectation has been that he will only use two at Real Madrid – at least this is projected to be the case during the Club World Cup.

The call on Martinez came from Real Madrid officials, who view the 17-year-old very highly. Alongside the likes of Huijsen and Asencio, he is seen as being a future mainstay at the Bernabeu.