Endrick’s future is on a knife‑edge

Daisy-picking day has become a little like Groundhog Day for Endrick. Petal by petal: I stay, I go, I stay, I go, I stay, I go. There is now a genuine debate about his future, and that is new. A few months ago, it seemed virtually settled. In early June, offers for Gonzalo were already circulating because he was expected to be the number nine to leave. And he has: he is now at Fulham. Yet Endrick could also depart. Few players are untouchable at this Real Madrid. The forward line is overcrowded. In short, there is now an “Endrick case”.

The file was reopened just as August began. Bobby returned to training last Wednesday after a six-month loan at Lyon, where he produced eight goals and eight assists in 21 matches, averaging a goal or assist every 102 minutes. The outlook was not entirely discouraging. Displacing Mbappé remains a fantasy, but the striker position appeared to be a two-horse race between Kylian and Endrick. He was also being considered for minutes on the right wing. It was not exactly a red carpet, but there were pathways.

Then Espí arrived. A lightning-fast signing. On Thursday afternoon, the red phone rang at Valdebebas and the word that acts as a trigger was spoken: “Go ahead.” The deal was approved and completed almost in the blink of an eye. Espí is a newly turned 21-year-old striker, 1.94 metres tall, who arrives from Levante. His $29 million release clause was paid, and that was that. But his arrival renews the congestion in attack. The situation has become one of three strikers and, unlike Mbappé, Espí offers something Endrick does not: height.

That is where the question begins. The club is effectively ruling out a sale, with another loan considered the preferred option, the same route being explored for Mastantuono. However, no decision has been made. Endrick wants to stay, but doubts are beginning to creep in. Those doubts are understandable. His contract runs until 2030, so any departure would require negotiation. Real Madrid also needs to reduce the squad. There are already 24 first-team registrations, while two more signings, Diomande and Rodrigo, are still pending. Departures are inevitable. The focus may be on other names, such as Asensio or Camavinga, but Endrick has not been excluded from the discussion.

His numbers illustrate the delicacy of the situation. In a season and a half with Real Madrid, he has played only 946 minutes. In other words, he has featured in just 11% of the team’s available minutes during that period, 8,400 in total, divided into 6,240 in his first season and 2,160 in the second. And yet his efficiency remains striking: he scores every 135 minutes for Real Madrid. That has always been central to the debate surrounding him. Despite limited opportunities, he repeatedly made headlines when he played. The problem was that he continued to play very little.

In January, confronted with his obvious lack of involvement, he had received only 99 minutes under Xabi Alonso, 77 of them in the match against Talavera, and accepted what seemed an inevitable solution: a loan move to Lyon. He did so largely because it represented his best chance of convincing Ancelotti he deserved a place at the World Cup. In that sense, it worked. The reality, however, was less romantic. He played 45 unremarkable minutes against Japan and 32 against Norway, where he missed the one-on-one chance that still haunts him. Not every dream ends like a fairy tale.

Now it remains to be seen how the story ends, because the case is very real. Gonzalo’s departure has not guaranteed Endrick’s continuity, and Espí’s arrival has restored the sense of overbooking. Becoming a starter already feels close to impossible, and risking another season with similarly limited minutes is a different matter altogether. The club is willing to listen to proposals. And Bobby keeps plucking petals from his daisy: I stay, I go, I stay, I go, I stay, I go. For now, his future hangs by a thread.

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