According to Spanish outlet AS, despite Sergio Martinez not yet making an official first-team appearance since joining Real Madrid, head coach José Mourinho has been closely monitoring the young midfielder's development. Real Madrid is very satisfied with Martinez's adaptation and recent performances with Real Madrid Castilla.
Real Madrid signed Martinez from Racing Santander this summer for 3 million euros. Although first-team activities have slowed during the international break, Mourinho's attention to the young player has not waned. On Friday evening, he personally attended a Castilla match at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium to watch them defeat Atlético Madrid B.
Martinez's performance in that match was steady but not particularly outstanding. He performed much better in the U20 Intercontinental Cup against Santiago Wanderers at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, where over 50,000 spectators were present. Mourinho also attended to observe Martinez and other Real Madrid academy players.
In fact, Martinez's primary role upon joining Real Madrid was to play for Castilla, but he was also promised that the first team would continuously monitor his progress and offer him the possibility of competing at a higher level.
Before joining Real Madrid, Martinez had already demonstrated considerable talent at Racing Santander, where he had played for several years. Because of this, it was initially surprising to outsiders why he chose to join Castilla, which plays in the Spanish third division, essentially taking a step down in competition level.
However, Martinez understood that the opportunity to join Real Madrid might only come once, and he was aware that Mourinho would seriously evaluate his performances.
AS believes that since Toni Kroos's departure, Real Madrid has lacked a midfielder of Martinez's profile in certain phases of play. Although there is currently no suitable position for him in the first team, opportunities sometimes arise unexpectedly. Real Madrid's history is full of such examples, most notably Raúl.
In fact, Mourinho showed his appreciation for Martinez from the start. His first two training sessions after arriving at Valdebebas were with the first team, and he was subsequently included in the squad for Real Madrid's away match against Real Betis.
At that time, Mourinho spoke about the new signing in a press conference: "Tomorrow he will be on the bench, which should give you a general idea of our plans. Before signing him, we had already analyzed him thoroughly."
Mourinho continued: "He is a young player with potential who had some experience in the Segunda División and played for Racing Santander at the beginning of this season. He has potential but still needs to work hard. The quality and intensity of football here are different, but he is already here."
Regarding whether Martinez would make his first-team debut, Mourinho said: "As for whether he can play, we'll see. But being able to travel with us for the match is already a step forward."
Ultimately, Martinez did not get playing time against Betis. This may have been due to the flow of the match; although Real Madrid performed well overall, they missed several scoring opportunities and ultimately lost.
After that, as Mourinho welcomed more midfielders back into the squad, Martinez was not included in the first-team plans again.
However, Real Madrid internally still highly values his development rate and his adaptation to the club and Castilla. After all, Castilla remains his primary team, and he has gradually become an indispensable squad member.
To date, Martinez has made 5 appearances for Castilla, starting in the last 4 matches. For this young midfielder, he is gradually progressing through each stage of his development, and Mourinho continues to closely monitor his performances.
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