With the pre-season tour of Australia and China now over, Benítez still has three outstanding friendly matches that will help him decide on his final 2015-16 squad for the season ahead. Next week, Madrid participate in the Audi Cup in Munich. The face Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday before facing the either Bayern or AC Milan the following day. Their last pre-season match takes them to Norway for a game against Tippeligaen side, Valerenga on August 9th. Madrid face Sporting Gijon in their opening game of the new La Liga season on August 23rd.
The coach has 270 minutes to make a definitive evaluation on five players: Cheryshev, Illarramendi, Lucas Silva, Marco Asensio and Odegaard. None of these players are current starters and their respective chances of making the season’s squad vary. Cheryshev has impressed Benítez, whilst Illarramendi and Lucas Silva have been poor with Casemiro now being higher in the pecking order. Odegaard’s situation is unique. He traveled with the first team as a sub-clause from when he was signed to the club. He is the main attraction for the Valerenga friendly so the club has their hands tied until after this date.
The situation with Asensio is somewhat different. The player reports back tomorrow from holiday (he was involved in the U-19 Spanish team). He has suitors from many clubs keen to secure his services on loan (Betis, Espanyol, Málaga...) but Benítez is anxious to watch him play first before making a decision. Borja Mayoral is in a similar position but it appears that he will play for Castilla under Zidane.