Klopp Left Scratching Head Over Arbeloa's Handling of Madrid Midfield Prospect Pitarch

Jurgen Klopp has been left scratching his head over Alvaro Arbeloa's recent treatment of Real Madrid's teenage midfield prospect Thiago Pitarch, according to reports from Spain.

The incoming Madrid manager—widely touted as Florentino Perez's top choice to replace Xabi Alonso—was genuinely impressed by the 18-year-old's early performances this season. Yet the current Bernabéu boss appears to have cooled on the youngster in recent weeks, a shift that has left Klopp baffled.

Pitarch made his competitive debut for Los Blancos against Benfica in the Champions League back in February, and under Arbeloa's watch has racked up four league starts plus a substitute outing, alongside three Champions League appearances from the off and three further cameos in Europe's elite competition. The academy product showed little sign of being overawed by the step up, delivering impressively despite his tender years and obvious inexperience at the highest level.

Yet something has changed. In recent fixtures, the teenager has found himself conspicuously absent from the action. Against Girona in La Liga on 10 April, he didn't even make the bench as Arbeloa fielded Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz in a four-man midfield. The story repeated itself at the Bernabéu against Alavés on Tuesday, with Valverde, Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Arda Güler getting the nod instead.

That said, Pitarch did start Madrid's Champions League quarter-final opener against Bayern Munich and featured against Manchester City across both legs of that tie, as well as starting against Atlético Madrid in the league last month. For an 18-year-old Spain Under-20 international at arguably the world's biggest club, regular football was never going to be guaranteed.

Still, Klopp's puzzlement over the midfielder's sudden disappearance from Arbeloa's plans speaks volumes about the impression he made during his early exposure to first-team football. Whether the manager's reticence proves temporary or signals a longer-term reassessment remains to be seen—though with Madrid already eliminated from the Champions League and trailing Barcelona by six points in La Liga (albeit with a game in hand), Arbeloa's future at the club looks decidedly uncertain heading into the summer.