Kylian Mbappe to Make Real Madrid Return Against Schalke 04

Tomorrow (Sunday the 16th of August), Real Madrid will play their final friendly of pre-season against newly promoted Bundesliga side, Schalke 04, before the real thing kicks off next weekend away to RCD Espanyol.

La Liga actually starts this weekend, but Real Madrid (alongside rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid) had their request to push their opening game against Real Sociedad back to have more time to prepare for the season, with that game now taking place in the midweek after the clash with Espanyol.

In a World Cup year, so many players have returned to Real Madrid City late, so you can totally see the club’s logic. One of the players who only joined up with pre-season this weekend was star forward, Kylian Mbappe.

Well, according to COPE (via theMadridZone) the Frenchman - whom scored ten goals at the World Cup and was active until the penultimate day of the tournament - is set to feature in the friendly against Schalke tomorrow. They say he will “get some minutes” - which perhaps implies a second half cameo off the bench. 

Although, considering his long summer with the France national team, Mbappe probably does not need loads of increasing his sharpness when it comes to match fitness, it will still be good for him to get some minutes with the team, particularly under a new manager in Jose Mourinho. A chance to get up to speed with the style of play and everything else.

Not only that, but also a number of new team mates in Marc Cucurella, Denzel Dumfries, Bernardo Silva, Carlos Espi (albeit they play in the same position) and Yan Diomande. Ibrahima Konate too, but he is a player he has already played with. 

A lot of fans are excited to see how Mbappe does under Mourinho. There is a suggestion that it could work quite well, considering the 63-year old is hardly known for pressing and intense out of possession work. A lot of fans feel like he and Vinicius Jr will be given free roles. 

Plus, we know that Mourinho loves a quick counter attack. The idea of Mbappe, Vinicius and Diomande running at teams on the break, with Jude Bellingham alongside them, is a pretty crazy thought. Just got to hope it plays out in practise the same way that it sounds in theory, which we know is not always the case in football.