Real Madrid interim manager Santiago Solari is reportedly ready to axe as many as four big names at the club as he comes in to replace Julen Lopetegui.
It is not yet clear how long the Argentine will last as head coach of the first-team, but while he’s there it seems he’s not messing about and will make the changes he feels are necessary to improve results.
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According to Don Balon, that means axing big names such as Karim Benzema, Raphael Varane, Dani Ceballos and Lucas Vazquez.
The report explains that Solari wants Mariano Diaz to be first choice up front once he’s fully fit, while he would like to reinstate the Luka Modric and Toni Kroos partnership that Lopetegui seemed to try to break up by including Ceballos more often.
It will be interesting to see if Solari’s shake-up can have a similar effect at Madrid to the one made when Zinedine Zidane took over in similar circumstances in the 2015/16 campaign.
The Frenchman took his first management position when he replaced Rafael Benitez at the Bernabeu, and ended up being an unexpectedly huge success, winning three Champions League titles in less than three full seasons in charge.