Naasei knocks on the door of the first team

Real Madrid C.F.

Oscar Naasei is starting to carve out a place in Mourinho's plans. The Castilla centre-back trained with the first team this Tuesday at Valdebebas and appears as one of the options to complete Real Madrid's squad for the trip to Villarreal.

The defence is heading into the return under minimums. Huijsen will have to serve a suspension, Asencio remains injured, Konaté is carrying niggles and Militao is still pending to recover match sharpness. With this scenario, Mourinho needs to find solutions and the reserve team could be one of them.

The coach also has Mario Rivas and Joan Martínez on the table, along with the possibility of using Tchouaméni alongside Rüdiger if circumstances require it. The evolution of Konaté will be another key factor before Saturday's match at the Bernabéu.

The Ghanaian centre-back, 21, arrived at Castilla this summer from Granada and his adaptation is being rapid. He has played all six of the reserve team's matches and started in five. His most recent appearance came last Friday in the derby against Atlético Madrid, with Mourinho present at Di Stéfano.

Naasei had already taken part previously in some training with the first team, but now the situation is different. The absences in the centre of defence put him much closer to making the leap and entering an official squad.

Last season he played 37 matches in Segunda División and this summer he made the step up to Castilla as one of the club's bets for the future. Transfermarkt currently puts his market value at two million euros, a figure higher than the cost of his signing.

Now he has an opportunity that a few weeks ago seemed a lot more distant. Mourinho will have to decide which reserve-team defenders he brings to the bench against Villarreal and Naasei starts with arguments to be one of them.

The Castilla match on Friday in Ibiza could provide new clues. The squad and the starting XI from López de Lerma will make it possible to know whether Naasei is released to join the first team. The final decision, though, will be in Mourinho's hands.