Surprise With Asencio's Future and Real Madrid's Renewal Offer

One of the positive surprises of this season is, without a doubt, Raúl Asencio.  The footballer from La Fábrica, so far established as the leader of Real Madrid Castilla's defense, was drafted to the first team due to the shortage of central defenders. Carlo Ancelotti's orders to include the Canarian '35' have proven much more effective than initially anticipated.

Because  the Spanish central defender was not one of the candidates to reach Santiago Bernabéu locker room in these months: players like Joan Martínez or Jacobo Ramón had much more support. However, the insular footballer seems to have arrived to stay because from the Valdebebas offices they would be working on a renewal offer to extend a contract that ends very soon.

Raúl Asencio has demonstrated being up to the competitive circumstances to which Carlo Ancelotti has subjected him since his arrival. His performance has attracted the attention of the merengue sports management and makes him one of the most unexpected reinforcements for an area of the squad in need of more players. Therefore, at stake is not only an extended contract but also his continuity as a merengue player.

The first reports regarding the renewal offer to Raúl Asencio offered good feelings, but that  optimism has slowly faded over time. Roberto Morales, during his intervention in "El Partidazo" of COPE, made it clear that  "Asencio's representatives have not accepted the first renewal offer". The reasons for this refusal are unknown, but they are worrying news for everyone in the white team.

We'll See

"He has offers from big clubs in Europe and the clause is not too high", stated Roberto Morales on COPE. With that information on the table, the 'Raúl Asencio case' could become much more complicated faster than it seems. The next steps of Real Madrid could be key in the decision the central defender makes at the end of the current season.

Because the board led by Florentino Pérez will present a formal offer, if the current dynamics do not change, at the end of this soccer season. It will be then when the youth player, already installed in the first white team, must make a decision regarding his future... taking into account that he has become one of the defensive reinforcements that Carlo Ancelotti had so much requested since the summer of 2024.

Meanwhile, a coaching change is approaching at Real Madrid. The possible hiring of Xabi Alonso as the successor to the Reggiolo coach, set for a year and a half from now, could well alter the starting eleven seen so far. Placing Asencio as the third central defender would be a clear statement of intent that the San Sebastian coach would make to signal the change of pace and the definitive installation of the generational shift.

The defense of Real Madrid is the last area to be affected by that process initiated in the summer of 2018. The hypothetical arrival of Trent Alexander-Arnold as a free agent has been a step as unexpected as it is welcome in that sense, as well as the insertion of Raúl Asencio into the first team. It remains to be seen how long this last move will last.