Real Madrid Can No Longer Consider Illarramendi Loan in January Transfer Window

For Real Madrid this season, Asier Illarramendi's role couldn't be more limited.

In 11 appearances across all competitions, nine have come as a substitute. Of those nine, eight have seen him play less than 30 minutes. Seven have seen him play less than 20.

Sitting behind his team's plethora of gifted attacking stars, the 24-year-old has been little more than the guy brought on to shore up the midfield once the game has already been won. A player whose primary use has been to save the bodies of others and to secure what has already been built.

He's basically Carlo Ancelotti's tube of silicone sealant: a finisher for many situations but a constructor of nothing. 

Of course, there's a reasonable chance Illarramendi has never been compared with an industrial product before, but it's still an apt description of his function to date in Los Blancos' prolific season.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Thus, it had seemed certain that the former Real Sociedad star would be sent out on loan in the upcoming January transfer window. 

Illarramendi needed minutes, and Real Madrid couldn't give them to him. It looked like a no-brainer, particularly with clubs such as Arsenal, Liverpool and AC Milan all touted as potential suitors, per Metro.

However, hyperbole aside, there are few certainties ever to be found in the winter window.

Though viewed merely as a shallow pond of overpriced quick fixes, the midseason month of madness can produce a little bit of everything for Europe's top clubs, both in terms of the deals themselves and the success they yield. 

A change in circumstances just prior to the window's arrival can heavily alter what was once seen as certain, too.

That's now true for Illarramendi.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

The young Spaniard's short-term future now appears to lie at the Bernabeu due to Luka Modric's thigh injury, which could rule out the Croatian for up to three months, per BBC Sport. 

In his absence, Ancelotti will be forced to reshuffle his central ensemble until the stalwart of his midfield returns to fitness.

Given Real's attacking stance this campaign, it's reasonable to expect that Isco, who shone during Gareth Bale's layoff, will enjoy further chances to impress. 

However, replacing a forward or a wide midfielder is a very different proposition to stepping in for a teammate at the core of the formation. Modric's role demands a deeper starting position, a greater sense of conservatism and a more diverse passing range to the roles that have been carried out by Isco during his time in Madrid. 

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Ancelotti, therefore, will need to turn to Illarramendi, who's a player of contrast in this Real Madrid squad. 

A natural figure at the heart of a lineup, the rarely used holding midfielder is likely to be given some of the minutes he has craved since his move from Basque Country.

At the base of the midfield, Illarramendi would relieve some of the defensive burden on Toni Kroos, who's quickly moulded himself into a new-wave Xabi Alonso. His inclination to sit and hold rather than push forward could also prove important if his team's rampant work in attack ever slows to any degree (Real's scoring feats have rendered defensive qualities largely irrelevant in recent months). 

That rumoured January loan deal, one senses, is about to be put on hold. 

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

In truth, it may only be a short-term break for Illarramendi. Modric's absence may heighten his importance at the Bernabeu temporarily, but the Croatian's return will again relegate him to where he's sat until now.

When that point arrives, will Real Madrid look to sell Illarramendi? Most likely not, given that the fee spent to sign him in 2013 was seen as a renewed commitment to elite Spanish talent by the capital club. 

However, one feels Real Madrid will inevitably send the Spaniard out on loan. Modric's injury might just stop that from occurring in the approaching January.