Real Madrid are reportedly considering terminating Dani Ceballos’s loan at Arsenal as the midfielder has struggled to nail down a spot under Mikel Arteta and is struggling for game time.
Ceballos played 37 games last season at loan with the Gunners and returned again for this season under Mikel Arteta after an impressive first season with Arsenal. The Spaniard has featured in 23 games this season but has largely come off the bench and has started just eight times in the league. With Thomas Partey now fully fit, it is hard to see Ceballos get more play time in midfield at the club.
Former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell believes that Ceballos has not shown much to be warrant a permanent contract at Arsenal and lacks the quality the squad needs at the moment.
Talking to Football Insider, Campbell said, ‘I do not think he has done enough to justify a permanent move. At the back end of last season he was playing really well and when Arsenal went back in for him I thought he was really going to kick on but everything has come crashing down at the same time.”
“The team’s performances haven’t been good and his performances haven’t either. ‘At times he has looked OK when he has come on but the team has not been good enough in the centre of the park this season. We need people with legs in there, it is not just about being good on the ball. You have to close down and dominate your opponent and he does not do that enough.”
Despite the inconsistency shown by Elneny and the lack of discipline in midfield from the likes of Xhaka, Ceballos has simply not been favoured by Arteta, which has prompted Real Madrid executives to consider recalling him back to the Bernabeu in January and possibly selling him to other interested clubs.
Reports state that Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus are all interested in bringing the midfielder to the Serie A.
Milan have been struggling to provide cover for injured players and Ceballos will prove to be a nice addition to the squad under Stefano Pioli who are currently on top of the league table. Both Juventus and Inter boast of a packed midfield with the likes of Rabiot, McKenie, Bentancur at Juventus and Gagliardini, Stefano Sensi and Arturo Vidal and Ceballos will face much more competition there.
At the age of 24, Ceballos has never shown great development or quality during his time at Arsenal and it looks like he will never match the high standards set at Real Madrid. It remains to be seen whether Arsenal sign the Spaniard permanently in the summer or he makes a switch to the Serie A.
