Mourinho must sacrifice one of two Real Madrid established stars to accommodate summer signing

One of the many players Real Madrid signed back in the summer was Bernardo Silva , who arrived as a free agent from Manchester City .

He began looking like one of the possible solutions for Madrid's early-season problems in the absence of Aurelien Tchouameni .

However, he has seen his minutes diminish in recent games and finding a place in Jose Mourinho's preferred XI doesn't come without its challenges.

According to AS , Bernardo's most natural route into the midfield would mean dropping either Fede Valverde or Aurelien Tchouameni.

The problem is that both are considered about as close to "untouchable" as anyone in Mourinho's squad.

The Portuguese midfielder's absence was especially evident in the 2-1 loss to Atletico Madrid , when their inability to control possession and dictate the rhythm of the game was again exposed.