Carlo Ancelotti might be forced to keep forward he doesn’t trust in Real Madrid squad this season - Reports

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is reportedly not interested in having striker Reinier Jesus in his squad for the 2023-24 season, but his hands could be tied.

Following the departure of Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio, Eden Hazard and Mariano in the summer, Los Blancos are desperately short of options and cover up front. While Ancelotti has Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo in attack, Joselu and Brahim Diaz are the only other personnel in that department.

Ancelotti has another option at his disposal in the form of Jesus, who is yet to feature for the first team since joining from Flamengo in 2020. The Brazilian was supposed to go on another loan spell at Girona and was even left out of Real Madrid's pre-season tour of the US due to his impending exit.

However, with his Girona loan move falling through, Los Blancos are scurrying for new destinations for Jesus. The forward has spent the last three seasons on loan with Borussia Dortmund (2020-21 and 2021-22) and Girona (2022-23).

As per El Nacional, there isn't much interest in Jesus, though. If he isn't offloaded before the transfer window closes on September 2, Ancelotti will have to keep a player he doesn't want.

The Italian tactician's pleas for a proven striker to lead his line have seemingly fallen on deaf ears. President Florentino Perez looks unlikely to land Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe this summer.

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What Kepa Arrizabalaga said after joining Real Madrid on loan

Arrizabalaga has joined Los Blancos on loan for the season.

Apart from their issues in attack, Real Madrid also needed to resolve a problem in goal after Thibaut Courtois sustained an ACL injury in training. This led them to loan in Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea.

Arrizabalaga was expected to be the first-choice custodian for new manager Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge. Instead, he is now set to be Real Madrid's main man behind the sticks during the 2023-24 campaign.

On his arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu, the 28-year-old told the club's media (as per Madrid Universal):

“I feel happy and proud to belong to Real Madrid, a club with so much history. It has all been very fast. I am happy to be here, to know the facilities and the colleagues. I want to start as soon as possible.”

The Spaniard added:

“Once you arrive at Real Madrid, it’s the best. Being here is a reason for happiness and what I can guarantee is work and commitment. I want to put everything I have for the team and so every day, surrounded by these talented players, improve and make the team better.”

Arrizabalaga is the world's most expensive goalkeeper, having been bought by Chelsea from Athletic Bilbao for £80 million in 2018. Since then, he has kept 59 clean sheets in 163 games across competitions for the Blues.