9 Real Madrid Players with Points to Prove in Pre-Season

Barely a month since Real Madrid lifted the UEFA Champions League in the San Siro, thoughts and plans are already turned toward pre-season and the opening of the 2016-17 campaign.

Real look likely to be active in the transfer market over the next month, with their participation in the International Champions Cup to serve as the start of their pre-season run of games, and one or two new faces in the squad by that point is an ideal scenario.

It's the players already at the club, though, who will be of concern to Real manager Zinedine Zidane in the first instance, and several of them have points to prove against the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich before competitive action gets under way.

As new players arrive, so must some leave, and staying at Real will be the priority for most of the current squad—meaning they'll have to impress quickly to keep their places.

Raphael Varane

Starting at the back, Raphael Varane was supposed to be one of the biggest and most reliable names in world football by now.

The French defender has the talent, of that there is no question, but inconsistent performances and ongoing injuries have meant that at age 23, he still isn't an undisputed starter for the club.

Some absences have been unfortunate timing, but there were too many off-colour displays in 2015-16 that resulted in Pepe usurping him in the starting lineup.

Marca reported Varane is considering his future after missing UEFA Euro 2016 thanks to injury, capping a pretty miserable season after he similarly missed the Champions League final win. The article cited a Le10Sport story that revealed Zidane had to intervene after Bayern Munich made an for him—believed to be €40 million, according to Le Parisien (via Marca).

Le10Sport suggested Zidane has won this time, keeping Varane convinced that he will play an important role, but he needs to find form quickly in pre-season if he's to begin 2016-17 in the starting XI.

Jese

Once a shining beacon of youth and energy, Jese has looked jaded, frustrated and unable to recapture his best form since a long-term knee injury and subsequent loss of place in the squad.

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Now little more than an impact sub for Real, he still doesn't really have a clear strongest position; he looks most effective as an inside-left forward—Cristiano Ronaldo's role—but with that spot rarely available, he has struggled to find any semblance of consistency either as a centre-forward or right-sided threat.

Last season saw Jese feature 38 times, but the real story is in his game time: 1,252 minutes equates to barely half an hour of on-pitch action per appearance, an indication of how Real use him most often.

He has a lot to prove if he's to get anywhere near the starting XI, but it looks more likely that he'll depart the club, and Marca's Santiago Siguero suggested the club are advocating a sale with a buy-back clause.

Alvaro Morata

Jese needs to prove his ability, Varane needs to prove his consistency. Alvaro Morata doesn't need to prove either—but he still has an altogether more difficult task.

Signed back from Juventus, Morata has been with Spain at Euro 2016 as the starting striker over the summer, but he now has a more difficult task in displacing Karim Benzema from the Real Madrid starting XI, who suffered injuries last term but still scored at a rate of one goal every 93 minutes in 15-16.

It's unlikely that Zidane will start week after week with two No. 9s in the team, leaving a fight for the centre-forward role—which is great for the team, but naturally frustrating for whichever forward is left out. Benzema has had the summer off so will start pre-season with the club, while Morata might miss out.

Morata himself said he doesn't have anything to prove, per Marca, but he'll be playing catch-up, needing a fast start to win a place in the side—and all that assumes Real don't immediately sell him on again.

Danilo

Real Madrid's right-back of choice at the start of last season, Danilo didn't take long to provoke the fury of fans, incite the disdain of his managers and lose his place to Dani Carvajal.

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Going forward, Danilo is clearly a big asset with his pace, drive and physical prowess, able to quickly exploit spaces and join up with counter-attacks, but his positional play when defending was abysmal, and he missed important challenges too often.

He won't have long to establish himself ahead of Carvajal, the clear first pick by season's end, and the pressure will be on Danilo to display his best traits and justify the €30 million fee Real paid for him a year ago.

Diego Llorente

Away from the more natural first-team players, Diego Llorente was one of several Castilla graduates away on loan last season, and he played a big role at Rayo Vallecano at centre-back and holding midfield.

There are plenty of reasons to think he'll be involved with Real Madrid next season, even if he won't be looking at a huge volume of minutes on the pitch, but at 22 years of age—23 when the season starts—he needs to impact this season. That makes the summer, and his performances alongside his positional rivals, of paramount importance.

There have been rumours that Real Madrid are in for N'Golo Kante, per Marca's David G. Medina, which, together with Casemiro's presence, would essentially end any hopes Llorente had of featuring as the holding midfielder. That means he'll be starting off life back at the Santiago Bernabeu as a fifth-choice centre-back, unless a departure in that area occurs.

Nacho

That brings us nicely to Nacho. The fourth-choice last season, Nacho showed versatility to play left-back at times but was largely left to feature in meaningless matches, as a late substitute or when everyone else was injured.

Marca's Laura Rubio reported Nacho is set to speak to the Liga club over his future, given he is 26 and yet to establish himself, and although pre-season is a chance to show his ability once again, it has to be recognised that Nacho is fighting an uphill battle.

It might be a case of imperious-or-nothing for the Castilla graduate.

Toni Kroos, Isco and James Rodriguez

And so to the superstar names in midfield, each with nothing to prove in terms of technical quality, but much to prove in terms of nailing down a first-team place.

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Luka Modric is a must-have in midfield, while Casemiro played a huge role, too. N'Golo Kante is "top of [the] wishlist" for Zidane this summer, according to Marca's Medina, and the front three are largely untouchable.

Something has to give this summer, and it's unlikely that all three of Kroos, Isco and James will want to spend all, or most, of the campaign on the bench.

Naturally, there will be rotation and time to win spots later in the season, but six big-name, big-fee players simply won't do for this squad.

Pre-season is the time when all three can show they deserve to be in the XI and demonstrate to Real Madrid how they can be counted on when the action gets under way...but all three have work to do to show they're not the ones who should be left out of the starting lineup and possibly offloaded before the season even starts.

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