Dani Ceballos' future at Real Madrid

As we are quite close to the end of the 2017-18 season, some players have already started to think about their future and among them, the Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos might top the list.

Real Madrid bought Ceballos on a six-year deal in 2017 from Real Betis for 15 million pounds and it is quite known to everyone that FC Barcelona were also looking to buy him. But in the end, Ceballos preferred to move to Real Madrid.

Ceballos is one of the crucial members of the Spain U-21 team, and it was expected that he will also become an important player for Real Madrid. But after his arrival in Madrid, it has gone all too wrong for the Spanish midfielder.

Out of the 29 matches Real Madrid have played in the league this season, Ceballos has gotten an opportunity in only 9 matches and he couldn't even get into the squad on many occasions.

After scoring two goals in an away match against Alaves, Ceballos became the first player to score a brace in his first La Liga start for Real Madrid in 21st century. Despite delivering an amazing performance, he was dropped in the very next match.

It is understandable that the midfield trio of Real Madrid - Modric, Kroos and Casemiro - is unbreakable at the moment, but Ceballos surely deserves more playing time and could have been used as a key substitute player. Unfortunately, that has not been the case.

Ceballos also became visibly angry after having only being subbed on for 20 seconds in the game against Leganes, which Los Blancos won comfortably.

A question that arises is - what was the reason behind buying Ceballos despite having so many midfielders in the team. Was it a panic buy or did they buy him just because their rival team targeted him? The way Real Madrid and Zidane have treated him so far has been very painful to watch.

Ceballos has played just 212 minutes in La Liga this season

But in a club like Real Madrid, where players have to work hard for every single minute, Ceballos should not quit so soon. As the young star is only 21 years old, he has a lot to give to Los Blancos and the young star needs to have some patience and wait for his chance.

Real Madrid have suffered a lot in the 2017-18 season and their only chance of silverware remains the UEFA Champions League. The team will be looking to rotate more and utilize the bench for the rest of the season in the league, as the La Liga trophy is well and truly out of sight. As a result of that, Ceballos will surely get more minutes.

Players like Isco, Lucas Vasquez and Marco Asensio had to warm the bench match after match, but they didn't quit. Because of their hard work, patience and dedication, they are now back in the manager's favor - and in the recent matches, Vasquez managed to bench even Gareth Bale.

These are very good examples of how hard work changes everything. It can happen soon with Ceballos as well, provided he doesn't choose to give up.