Rafa Benitez has not shied away from the fact that he will place big importance on Real Madrid as a squad and not just Real Madrid as a team this season. The former Napoli and Liverpool coach was one of the modern pioneers of squad rotation and that is something he will continue in the Spanish capital.
The Madrid-born coach has been criticised for his rotation policy in the past but, in contrast, former Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was questioned over his stubborn approach in failing to give a rest to some of his star names last season. While Barcelona flourished under Luis Enrique's clever rotation, Madrid suffered from tired legs.
Managing a squad with the talent of Madrid's will be tricky but rotation will be required if Los Blancos are set to experience success on more than one front this season, something that is always demanded. That means those players who perhaps would not command a regular first-team place will be crucial in Benitez's plans. Ronaldo and company will need some help if they are to return to winning ways in 2015-16.
Here are five Madrid players who may not be first-team regulars next season but who will be crucial pieces in Benitez's jigsaw.
Nacho
The 25-year-old progressed through the club's youth ranks but has never managed to secure a regular place in the first-team. However, he has proven to be more than useful on a number of fronts for Madrid in recent seasons.
He made just five starts in La Liga last season and nine more from the bench but on most occasions the defender has been an extremely handy back-up when called upon. He can play across the back line, on the right, left and in the centre, and his versatility should prove useful again for his latest coach.
Nacho was part of the Madrid team that came unstuck with a 4-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid but that poor performance was the exception rather than the rule last term. In that match he played alongside a talented but still young Raphael Varane. next to a more senior member of the Madrid defence, such as Sergio Ramos or Pepe, he looks more comfortable.
Madrid have bolstered their competition for places in defence with the arrival of Danilo but Nacho should still play an important role this season.
Casemiro
The Brazilian's future looked to be elsewhere when he moved on loan to Porto last season with a view to a permanent deal. The Portuguese giants activated the clause to buy him after a successful season but Madrid also included a clause to deactivate it and bring him back to the Spanish capital for a cost.
That cost, at €7.5 million, shows the midfielder's worth to Madrid and Benitez, who is said to have had a say in his future. That he also takes up a non-EU place, which means a likely loan away from Madrid for fellow countryman Lucas Silva, indicates he will not just be a Bernabeu bench-warmer.
Madrid were lacking depth in the central midfield department last season, especially on the defensive-side, and Casemiro will be able to give rest to the legs of Toni Kroos, who complained of tiredness early last season, and Luka Modric.
He will not just provide rest and recovery time for Madrid's midfield pair, however, he will also provide something different. The German's role sitting deeper in front of the back four last season was a new one for him and although his first season was a success on a personal level, the Brazilian offers a more natural tackling nature in breaking up the play and a more rounded defensive output.
Lucas Vazquez
Another player in the same mould as Casemiro, in that he was loaned elsewhere, to Espanyol, and bought back by Madrid for a fee this summer, the midfielder has returned to the Bernabeu at the request of his coach.
Madrid's 'BBC' of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo were "non-negotiable" last season under Ancelotti but by the end of the season the trio needed a rest. On top of Jese, Benitez asked for more options in attack and Vazquez gives him that option.
With a preference of playing wide on the right, Vazquez could act as a replacement for any of the three attackers Benitez has been using behind a sole striker in his probable 4-2-3-1 formation. He can replace Bale, who has been used in the middle and as a striker in pre-season, on the right and in-turn allow a rest to either Ronaldo or James Rodriguez, who are likely to line-up alongside Bale when Benitez fields his strongest XI.
Vazquez came through the Madrid youth set-up and honed his skills in Catalonia with Espanyol, being one of Sergio's key players last season. He could be a handy substitute or a viable alternative from the start for Madrid this season.
Jese Rodriguez
After a long spell on the sidelines through injury, the Las Palmas-born attacker slowly returned to form and fitness last season and will be hoping to return to the kind of form that got Madrid fans on the edge of their seats in his breakthrough season with the first team in 2013-14.
Jese has been linked with a loan move away from the Bernabeu in search of more regular minutes but after scoring in Madrid's 3-0 friendly victory against Inter Milan he told the gathered press that he wants to stay at the club and fight for his place.
If that burst of speed that saw him stand out two seasons ago returns, Madrid will have a top young player on their hands this season and one who will cause La Liga defences plenty of problems.
He can play as an out-and-out forward or on either flank and admitted after that friendly win that he likes playing in every position across the forward line -- something that will be music to Rafa Benitez's ears.
Denis Cheryshev
Cheryshev's immediate future is still up in the air but Benitez has kept a watchful eye over the Russian during preseason, featuring him in every friendly match so far.
The midfielder played 45 minutes in matches against Inter Milan and Roma and he scored a goal in the 25 minutes he played in during Madrid's 4-1 victory over Manchester City in Melbourne.
Like Jese, Cheryshev says he wants to stay at the club and fight for minutes on the pitch and although his task of doing just that may be tougher than the Spain U21 international, he is being handed every chance to prove his worth by his new coach.
With his skills being honed at loan spells with Sevilla and Villarreal, it's a case of now or never for the 24-year-old. His presence at Madrid this season will be a bonus for Benitez but if the right price comes in for the player, who has been linked with Liverpool and a return to Villarreal, Madrid may cash in.
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