Bernardo Silva's Real Madrid role blocked by Valverde and Tchouameni

A report says fitting the summer signing into Jose Mourinho's midfield would mean benching one of two near-automatic starters.

Bernardo Silva joined Real Madrid on a free transfer from Manchester City during the summer, but the Portuguese midfielder has found regular playing time hard to come by under Jose Mourinho. According to AS, his most natural route into the starting lineup would require dropping either Fede Valverde or Aurelien Tchouameni, two players regarded as close to untouchable in the squad.

Silva started Real Madrid's opening two league matches against Espanyol and Real Sociedad, but has started only once since, against Rayo Vallecano. He heads into the international break with 282 minutes played this season, with Valverde and Tchouameni holding down the preferred midfield pairing.

The report points to the derby loss to Atletico Madrid, won 2-1 by Atletico, as evidence of what Silva could offer. He played only the final 15 minutes of that match, but his arrival coincided with Real Madrid's strongest spell even while down to 10 men.

Of Silva's 460 Manchester City appearances, 264 came in midfield roles, roughly 57 percent. Mourinho's task, per the report, is finding a way to add that control in possession without breaking up his established double pivot.