Camavinga urged to emulate Valverde instead of Odegaard
With Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in the squad, a starting XI spot is not possible right now for Camavinga
Real Madrid's training camp in the United States has allowed Carlo Ancelotti to hold individual conversations with almost all the players in the squad.
Private chats have seen the Italian explain his latest plans and give advice and affection to players who have personal objectives as well as collective ones.
One of those conversations Ancelotti had was with Eduardo Camavinga, one of the revelations of last season.
The French midfielder quickly became the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu's super sub, proving vital in the Champions League with his appearances off the bench.
He was always ready to help change games and showed that, despite being only 19 years old, he had plenty of ability to play for the club.
The player knows that and so does Ancelotti, who is already working on the management of the Frenchman's second season at Madrid.
The aim is for him to have more minutes in the team than last year, but perhaps not as many as the player would like. Camavinga, as well as wanting to be a regular at Madrid, is aiming to be in the France squad for the World Cup in Qatar. That's why he also pushed himself even harder during his summer holidays.
His case is not like that of Aurelien Tchouameni, who pretty much has a cemented place in the squad with Didier Deschamps.
Camavinga has yet to break down the door and for that he needs to play regularly at Real Madrid. Yet with Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in the squad, a starting XI spot is not possible right now.
That's why Ancelotti recommends the player to be calm. The coach is clear that he is going to be a very important player, that he will have more minutes than last season and that he will give him a starting place if he earns it, but he has made him see that he still needs to be patient and continue to learn from the veterans.
At 19 years of age, he still has a lot of room for improvement and invites him to follow the Fede Valverde's path to make a career at Real Madrid.
Valverde is the best example that the French midfielder can find in the squad. The Uruguayan has been knocking on the door of the starting XI for two years, but it wasn't until February last year that he managed to break through.
In that time, the Uruguayan has gone through good and bad times, always waiting for his chance, without raising his voice.
Doubts flooded his head on many occasions, but he never really considered leaving Real Madrid and continued to fight and fight in every training session, waiting for his chance, which finally came.
He then became an undisputed starter on all of Madrid's big nights, this pre-season he has even worn the captain's armband. Ancelotti does not hesitate to point to him as an example for youth players and new arrivals.
Madrid hope that Camavinga will follow the Valverde route and not the Martin Odegaard route, a player who was never patient at Madrid and who asked to leave on three occasions when first Zinedine Zidane and then Ancelotti were unable to guarantee him a certain number of minutes.
The Norwegian was a huge disappointment for the club, but they respected his decision to leave.