If Hector Bellerin appears a man reborn since leaving Arsenal for boyhood club Real Betis last month, the same can’t be said of another player who returned to Spain following a difficult final season in north London.
Dani Ceballos left Real Madrid in summer 2019 in search of regular game time in north London.
But after two hit-and-miss years under Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta, Ceballos returned to find the Los Blancos midfield is arguably stronger now than it was during the Zinedine Zidane era.
Toni Kroos, Casemiro and the ageless Luka Modric are still strutting their stuff in bright white.
‘Phenomenon’ Fede Valverde is showing everyone why Real Madrid tied him down to 2027 with a new contract complete with a €1 billion release clause.
Eduardo Camavinga, meanwhile, has slotted into the Madrid machine seamlessly, scoring a debut goal against Celta Vigo last week.
And that’s without mentioning Marco Asensio, from future superstar to Bernabeu benchwarmer.
Ceballos, then, was very much mistaken if he felt a first-team role would be within his grasp under the grandfatherly figure of Carlo Ancelotti.
What next for Real Madrid misfit Dani Ceballos after Arsenal exit?
A troublesome ankle injury hasn’t helped his cause but, even when Ceballos is fit enough to return, it’s hard to imagine the 25-year-old displacing Modric, Valverde or Kroos.
According to Defensa Central, Madrid have already agreed a deal that would see Ceballos reunite with Bellerin at his former club in the January transfer window.
The 25-year-old is expected to rejoin Real Betis on an initial loan deal complete with mandatory ‘obligation to buy’ clause in the region of £20 million.
It isn’t what was planned when the ambitious, self-confident Ceballos swapped Betis for Los Blancos after being named player of the tournament at the 2017 U21 European Championships.
Fortunately, Ceballos has green-and-white blood running through his veins and, like Bellerin, would be welcomed with open arms at the Estadio Benito Villamarin. He is, as they say, one of their own.
“I want to go back and meet the fans. Some day I will return and return the love we’ve had,” he said recently. “Betis is different from any club in the world.”
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