Real Madrid Prepares for Schalke Clash: Mourinho's New Recruits Unleashed
Real Madrid’s final dress rehearsal before La Liga takes them to Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, where Schalke 04 await and Jose Mourinho gets one last look at his squad under live fire.
Six days later, Madrid open their league campaign away to Espanyol in Barcelona. This trip to Germany is the last chance to test ideas, integrate signings and make hard calls on fitness.
Mourinho’s new faces ready to step out
In Germany, Mourinho finally has the option to unleash his new recruits.
- Yan Diomande
- Marc Cucurella
- Ibrahima Konate
are all available and still waiting for their first minutes in a Real Madrid shirt. The friendly against Schalke offers a low-risk stage, but the stakes for them are high: impress now, or start the season looking up the pecking order.
There is also the Mbappe factor.
Kylian Mbappe, back in training this week after his post‑World Cup break, could make his first appearance under the Portuguese coach. Even in a pre-season setting, Mbappe’s presence would change the tempo of the night. One run in behind, one acceleration, and the whole game tilts.
Bellingham and Tchouameni: the big doubts
The excitement around the new signings is tempered by two nagging concerns.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni are the major question marks for the Schalke clash.
Bellingham returned to training on Wednesday. From here, it is Mourinho’s call: risk him in Germany to sharpen his edge, or wrap him in cotton wool for Espanyol and beyond. The Englishman is set to be restored to his preferred role, floating just behind the centre-forward, where his timing, aggression and creativity can shape matches.
Tchouameni faces a similar scenario. The French midfielder is recovering from a minor muscular issue and is expected to be ready for the La Liga opener, but his involvement on Sunday remains unclear. Mourinho knows the double pivot will be a battleground this season, with Tchouameni jostling with Federico Valverde, Bernardo Silva and Eduardo Camavinga for two spots.
Both Bellingham and Tchouameni sit at the heart of Mourinho’s plans. Both are central to how Madrid want to control games. Yet for Schalke, both are still in the maybe column.
Injury list forces changes
Some decisions, though, are already made for Mourinho.
- Raul Asencio
- Ferland Mendy
- Rodrygo
- Thiago Pitarch
- Eder Militao
will not travel. All five are in various stages of injury recovery and will remain in Madrid to continue their rehabilitation while the rest of the squad heads to Germany.
The absences strip away some options, particularly in defence and wide areas, and open the door for others to claim minutes they might not otherwise have seen.
The setbacks did not end there. Endrick has suffered a muscle overload and is also expected to miss the Schalke match. Mourinho will be counting the days, hoping the Brazilian, along with Bellingham and Tchouameni, can be declared ready for Espanyol.
A historic summer in the academy
While the first team fine-tune in pre-season, a very different kind of shake-up is unfolding in the academy.
Real Madrid’s youth system has been hit by what feels like a mass exodus. One prospect after another has headed for the exit, and the flow has not stopped yet.
Jacobo Ortega is the latest on the verge of leaving. The youngster is set for a move to Strasbourg, a deal that would make him the most expensive sale of a Real Madrid youth player yet to appear for the first team. A landmark transfer in purely economic terms, and a symbol of the new reality at Valdebebas.
And he will not be the last.
Manuel Angel and David Jimenez next in line
According to AS, Manuel Angel and David Jimenez are also poised to depart, effectively closing their chapter with Castilla.
Interest in both is strong, stretching from the top flight down to the second division and beyond. Nothing is advanced enough yet to seal their exits, but the direction of travel is clear.
Their treatment in pre-season says everything. The pair have been training separately and kept out of Castilla’s friendlies and matchday squads. That is no punishment; it is protection. No one wants an untimely injury to derail moves that could define their careers.
Once Ortega’s sale and other outgoing deals are taken into account, Real Madrid’s academy income this summer is set to climb past the €200 million mark. Inside the club, the window is already being described as historic. Not for a marquee arrival, but for the sheer scale of youth talent being converted into revenue.
Two talents shaped in a winning generation
Manuel Angel and David Jimenez are not fringe names.
Both were pillars of Alvaro Arbeloa’s treble‑winning academy generation, a group that also featured Nico Paz and Gonzalo Garcia. That team did not just win; it set standards.
Manuel Angel, 22, is a cerebral midfielder who joined La Fabrica in 2014 and has long been viewed as one of the brightest products of Valdebebas. Ambidextrous, composed, able to dictate tempo, he even stepped up to the first team towards the end of last season, making seven appearances. The next step is obvious: he needs a club that can guarantee him regular minutes, not just cameos.
David Jimenez offers a different profile. An attacking full-back with one of the best right feet in the academy, he has drawn comparisons to Dani Carvajal for his leadership and relentless, forward-thinking style. He, too, tasted first-team football last season, impressing under both Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa.
For both players, the equation is simple now. They have outgrown the academy. The question is not whether they leave, but where they land.
Real Madrid, the players and their entourages are waiting for the right offers. On Sunday, the first team will step out in Gelsenkirchen to tune up for a title charge. In the background, a different kind of rebuild continues, one that could shape what this club looks like five years from now.
