Xabi Alonso praised the “instant impact” made by Real Madrid signings Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen.
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Alexander-Arnold, Huijsen already have an “instant impact”
Madrid began its retooling after a disappointing season by appointing Alonso as manager and bringing in full-back Alexander-Arnold and centre-back Huijsen.
Alonso’s side will make their Club World Cup debut against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Wednesday, in the opening match of Group H.
The former Real Madrid midfielder expressed his satisfaction with how the new signings have shown so far in their training.
“I’m really happy with how we’ve worked in terms of transfers,” Alonso said in a news conference on Tuesday.
“Dean and Trent are top, top players. They have an instant impact.”
Alonso added: “They don’t need much training. They don’t need many concepts. They start straight away. The final project isn’t done, but tomorrow we start the first day.”
The improvement must show
Alonso was reluctant to criticize Madrid’s performance last season under his predecessor, Carlo Ancelotti.
However, he did offer some hints as to where the side must improve.
“It’s about the distances [between players], with and without the ball,” he said. “We have to be better positioned to have the ball, and to win it back. The team needs to be more compact.”
“I’m sure that on the last day of the tournament, we’ll be a better team.”
Alonso said that some of Madrid’s long-term injury absentees are close to returning but are unlikely to be available for the match against Al Hilal.
“All of them are in different phases,” he said.
“[Antonio] Rudiger made an incredible effort during the season, and he’s made a good effort in recovery. He’ll be back first. I don’t know if we’ll pick him in the squad.”
“With the others, we’ll be a bit more calm… [Dani] Carvajal and [Eder] Militao need a bit more time.”
