One month, and not much from Yan Diomande. That is how long it has been since the announcement of his signing. One month since Real Madrid paid €125 million (over $145 million) for the player, making him the most expensive transfer in the club’s history. And after 31 days, he has played 83 minutes.
He still has not started a game. In fact, he has yet to play 30 minutes in a single match. This is not a case of a signing falling flat, but rather one of patience. It is also a consequence of one of the revelations of the season so far: Arda Güler is thriving on the right wing, making the competition for that spot even tougher. That is compounded by Mourinho’s decision to ease Diomande into his plans gradually.
“Take it easy, calm down,” Mourinho says. But the reality is clear: one month on, everyone is still waiting for Diomande.
There have been four league games. Güler started three of them and Brahim Díaz started the other. Those are the teammates Mourinho has chosen ahead of Diomande.
Against Espanyol, Diomande played 26 minutes, coming on for Arda, who started. Against Real Sociedad, surprisingly, he got only six minutes, with Güler again in the starting lineup and Diomande replacing Vinicius. Against Málaga, he played 25 minutes, taking Brahim’s place after Brahim had been a surprise starter. And against Betis last Friday night, he played 26 minutes, again replacing Arda after the Turkish midfielder started.
There have been flashes, but they have been brief. In total, Diomande has played 23% of the minutes available this season, 83 out of 360. And he still has not started.
GameMinutesStarterEspanyol 1-2 Real Madrid26′NoReal Madrid 4-1 Real Sociedad6′NoReal Madrid 4-0 Málaga25′NoBetis 1-0 Real Madrid 26′NoReal Madrid – Inter??
Diomande on the bench against Real Betis on Friday.JESUS ALVAREZ ORIHUELA“Little by little”
It is Mourinho himself who has called for time and patience.
“Relax, he has to go little by little. He has played the three games… umm… 20 minutes, 15, 30… he has played the three games. He works well, a lot. He is an open, humble kid who wants to learn, who wants to work. He listens to me, but he also listens to his teammates. He is going to grow.
“We cannot… well, you can, but I can’t look at the… 120 and something? 120? 130? How much did we pay?” Mourinho asked his press officer, laughing. “How much did we pay?” He laughed again. “I don’t know! A hundred and something.
“But I can’t look at that. I have to look at the young player with enormous potential who had a high-level season in the Bundesliga with Leipzig. Calm down.
“Because normally, when you talk about a number that big, you are talking about someone who arrives and blows everything up. That is not the case. He is too young, naive. He has incredible potential, but… take it easy. Calm down.”
Those were Mourinho’s words after the rout of Málaga.
Diomande warms up on the Bernabéu sideline.JAVIER GANDULWhy Diomande could start against Inter
But beneath that calm approach, Tuesday’s Champions League game against Inter offers a glimpse of something different. The signs point toward accelerating the process.
The expectation had been that Diomande would not make his first start on a night of this magnitude. But Güler and Bernardo Silva are suspended, removing two players who would potentially have been ahead of him in the pecking order.
With Camavinga also suspended, Tchouaméni in the final stages of his recovery and Thiago in a similar situation, Valverde cannot move out to the wing.
That means the spot against Inter should come down to Brahim and Diomande.
That is, unless Mourinho has another trick up his sleeve, such as using two right backs or making a tactical change.
Diomande passes to Vinicius against Málaga.JAVIER GANDULOnly 19
As the decision approaches, Diomande knows the spotlight is on him in the hours before kickoff. He is the most likely candidate, after all.
He is a player with an extraordinary personality for someone operating at this level of the game. Quiet, humble and even shy, he can be almost too introverted. And, ultimately, he is only 19 years old, coming off a genuinely impactful season.
He is still raw, and everyone involved recognizes that, including Mourinho, who has said so publicly. That “naive” description, which has surfaced repeatedly in his press conferences, was particularly evident in Mourinho’s comments after the Málaga rout.
But everything matures. Everything comes in time.
And although Diomande’s start has been quiet, the expectations surrounding him remain enormous. There are already glimpses of a Galáctico in him.
“He has the kind of talent you rarely see,” a source at Valdebebas says.
At the club, however, there has been a deliberate effort to avoid grand declarations and preserve that atmosphere of calm. The idea is not to put too much pressure on him, too soon.
The numbers are what they are: 83 minutes so far this season. No goals, no assists.
There is no denying that he has made for a very quiet start. But as Mourinho says: “Take it easy. Calm down.” That is the mentality behind closed doors. Everything will come in time.
Perhaps it starts with Inter.
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