Real Madrid summer signing signing puts pressure on defender ahead of new season

Real Madrid summer signing signing puts pressure on defender ahead of new season There is no better way to start at a new club than by starting the first two matches you’re available for. By that measure, Denzel Dumfries, 30, has made an excellent start at Real Madrid. His time at the club has only just begun, but having the coach’s confidence from the outset is always a positive sign. And after building up his physical workload, the Dutchman has been rewarded with a starting role ahead of his main competitor, Trent Alexander-Arnold, putting the Englishman on notice heading into the new campaign, reports AS . Pressure on Trent Trent, one of the eight first-team players who began preseason earliest, played at right-back in the two training matches Real Madrid held at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. Against Fiorentina, in the team’s first official pre-season test, the Englishman also started, alongside Dumfries, who had completed only five training sessions under Mourinho. Making a strong impression. (Photo by David Balogh/Getty Images) The surprise came in Budapest. The Dutchman started for the second consecutive match. And this time he did not play as a winger, as he had on his debut, but as a conventional right-back, his natural position and the role he was brought in to fill. His inclusion pushed Trent onto the bench, with the summer signing winning the first battle for the starting position this season. Time for Trent to respond The Englishman has little choice but to respond. After a first season that failed to live up to expectations, Trent is looking to establish himself as Real Madrid’s first-choice right-back. His inconsistency and defensive vulnerability prevented him from holding down the position regularly in his first season in Madrid. Under pressure. (Photo by Christian Bruna/Getty Images) Repeated physical problems also interrupted his progress whenever he began to establish himself in the starting XI. It ultimately contributed to the full-back being left out of the World Cup, something expected to serve as a wake-up call for a player Jose Mourinho already knows well from his time in the Premier League. In England, Mourinho first faced Trent in 2017, when the Portuguese was managing Manchester United. Two years later, they crossed paths again, this time with Mourinho in charge of Tottenham. Now, with Dumfries determined to prove his worth and make the position his own, it is up to Trent to rediscover the level he showed at Anfield that made him one of the world’s best right-backs – the level Real Madrid are eager to see again.