Dani Ceballos and Kylian Mbappé's Real Madrid doubts
Fresh from a fantastic season in which Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid side won four trophies, it's safe to say that this summer is a great time to be a Madridista.
True, there has been the headache of Cristiano Ronaldo's tax-related tantrum; but, save for that, the feeling among Real fans is one of excitement at the upcoming arrival of three or four tweaks to Los Blancos' squad, players who'll serve to round out the strongest in the club's history.
Jesús Vallejo, one of the stand-out centre-backs at June's European Under-21 Championship, and Theo Hernández, the left-back with the biggest future in LaLiga, are to be unveiled imminently.
And Marcos Llorente and Borja Mayoral, two academy graduates able to offer terrific cover in defensive midfield and up front, respectively, are in prospect too.
I can understand Ceballos' doubts, but Mbappé shouldn't hesitate
However, there's always a 'but'.
In an ideal world, Real would also get Kylian Mbappé and Dani Ceballos sorted sharpish. The problem, though, is that neither can be guaranteed a place in a line-up as strong as the Spanish and European champions'.
Taking advantage of the doubts that can creep into young players' minds in such a situation, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona have elbowed their way into the queue.
Ceballos knows that he has top stars in front of him in Isco, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Marco Asensio. Were I Mbappé, though, I wouldn't hesitate.
Benzema will be 30 in December; the following day, his countryman turns just 19. The time is coming for Karim to start shedding his 'certain starter' status. Present and future ought to dovetail beautifully...