Dani Ceballos has been working on his recovery since returning to Real Madrid after spending the previous two seasons on loan at Arsenal, but he could be on his way to Real Betis once more.
Ceballos began his career at Betis, making his debut in a 1-0 loss against Real Sociedad in April 2014. Ceballos joined Real Madrid for 18 million euros in July 2017 after making 98 appearances for Betis.
Difficult time for Ceballos
Ceballos has not been a success for Real Madrid, but he has been a success for Spain. The 25-year-old was instrumental in Spain’s success at the European Under-21 Championship in 2019 and went on to win a silver medal with La Roja at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he suffered an ankle injury.
Now that he’s recovered from his injury, he’ll be seeking to make his first Real Madrid appearance since April 28, 2019, when he faced Rayo Vallecano under Zinedine Zidane.
A Return to Betis
Ceballos has been linked with a return to Betis in recent months, but it does not appear that he will return in the January transfer window. Manuel Pellegrini, the coach of Betis, has previously stated that he does not want any transfers in or out of the window. Ceballos’ previous club is having a fantastic first half of the season and will finish third in LaLiga Santander in 2022.
The situation is also advantageous for Real Madrid, who will be trying to offload the player at the end of the season because he does not appear to be in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans for the remainder of the season. Ceballos’ contract will expire in the summer of 2022.
Spanish salvation
One of the midfielder’s main concerns is that a lack of game time will only serve to isolate him from the national team. Ceballos was called up by Luis Enrique in 2018 but was unable to secure a spot for Spain before the last Olympic Games.
With players like Pedri and Gavi taking the lead for Spain, Ceballos will be eager to play regularly and re-enter Luis Enrique’s plans.
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