End-of-year exam for youth players: Jacobo Ramón, Yusi, Lorenzo, Joan, and Real Madrid's Club World Cup casting call

Madrid will play La Liga today (2 p.m.) against Celta Vigo and next Sunday against Barcelona , ​​with Lucas, Tchouaméni, Asencio and Fran García as the only first-team defenders. There are no more after a plague of injuries that has left Carvajal, Militao, Rüdiger, Alaba, Mendy and Camavinga in the infirmary. Putting together a defense up to the challenge is almost impossible for Ancelotti , who has had no option but to 'fish' in Raúl's Castilla . Jacobo Ramón , center back, and Youssef Yusi , left back, will be playing against the Vigo team and will thus begin the end-of-year exam at La Fábrica, a casting call for the final weeks of La Liga and for the Club World Cup in which several youth players will participate, all with tickets to travel to the US.

Mendy and Camavinga will miss the US tournament, which begins on June 15 in Miami. Rüdiger could make it, as could Alaba, while Carvajal and Militao, with long-term injuries, are continuing their recovery process slowly. So Ancelotti is looking at Castilla. He has called up Jacobo Ramón and Yusi against Celta.

The former already made his Copa del Rey debut against Leganés, where he suffered under the pressure of the moment, but has Ancelotti's full confidence. " Jacobo is not what we saw today ," said the Italian in the press conference that day. At 20 years old , his 195 centimeters make him a good aerial defender, and only injuries have prevented him from getting more minutes with the first team. In fact, he was considered ahead of Asencio in the predictions to make the switch, but an unfortunate muscle problem kept him out for a few weeks and Ancelotti ended up calling on his teammate, who has turned out to be the big surprise of the season. Jacobo is a regular in the reserve team, where Raúl never knows defeat when he can count on him.

As for Yusi , at 19 years old , he's one of the biggest prospects on the left wing at La Fábrica. Born in Madrid, he played for Spain in the youth categories, but ultimately chose Morocco , his mother's country, and has already been called up to the senior team, like Brahim. He's vital to Raúl in the reserve team, with whom he's logged 2,626 minutes, one goal, and four assists this year. The doors to the first team seem closed in the medium term, with the presence of Fran and Mendy and Madrid's interest in signing a new left back, but Yusi has already received calls from La Liga teams and is expected to go out on loan in the future.

Lorenzo and Joan, in the bedroom

Both will be on the bench against Celta, but Ancelotti, and the club, while waiting to decide which coach will lead the team during the World Cup, also have Lorenzo Aguado , right back of the reserve team.

In addition, the board is still waiting for Joan Martínez , a young 17-year-old center back who seriously injured his knee in the last preseason, when he shone with the first team, and is now returning to training with the U19s. There is no rush with him either, but as the World Cup will also act as a preseason, his presence in the United States is expected along with youth players from other positions such as Chema, center midfielder, or Gonzalo, forward.