He asked Mourinho to let him follow Arbeloa to Fulham, and Real Madrid’s unused midfielder could get his wish in January

Fulham were not the only ones pushing for Thiago Pitarch to move to Craven Cottage in the summer. The Real Madrid midfielder wanted it too, and he went straight to Jose Mourinho to ask for it.

That is the claim from Spanish journalist and pundit Alberto Pereiro, who says Pitarch asked to follow Alvaro Arbeloa to London. Mourinho said no, because he wanted the youngster in his first-team squad.

The problem is what has happened since. Pitarch stayed in Madrid, and he still has not played a single minute for the senior side this season.

What did Pitarch ask Mourinho?

Pereiro shared the detail on Roberto Morales’ YouTube channel. “Thiago Pitarch asked Mourinho to let him go to Fulham with Arbeloa after the U19 European Championship, but the manager told him he wanted him in the first-team squad,” he said.

It fills in the one part of the summer saga that was missing. We already knew Fulham pushed hard for the midfielder and that Mourinho personally blocked the move. What wasn’t clear was where the player stood. According to Pereiro, he actively wanted to reunite with the coach who gave him his breakthrough at Real Madrid last season.

It would have been a familiar route. Arbeloa had already taken Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios with him from Madrid to Craven Cottage, and Pitarch was lined up to be the third.

Why hasn’t he played under Mourinho?

Mourinho kept him, but it has not gone to plan. A knee injury wrecked Pitarch’s pre-season, and even after recovering he has been left watching from the bench. His minutes have come elsewhere, including the opening goal for Spain’s under-20s in a 2-0 friendly win over Mexico in October.

Pereiro also pointed to Mourinho’s midfield experiments, which help explain the wait. Federico Valverde has moved to right-back, Bernardo Silva has partnered Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield, and Eduardo Camavinga is in the mix too. That leaves very little room for a youngster who missed the start of the campaign.

Is a January loan on the cards?

Reports in Spain have already suggested Pitarch could consider a loan in January if nothing changes. For Fulham, that is the opening they were denied in the summer, and this time the player’s own wishes are out in the open.

Fulham’s Real Madrid pipeline could reopen

It isn’t the only January plan at Craven Cottage. The Cottagers are also in the chase for Trabzonspor centre-back Chibuike Nwaiwu, and Arbeloa has already shown he can get a tune out of this squad, with his first winning run as Fulham boss coming this autumn.

A loan for Pitarch would suit everyone more than this stalemate does. Real Madrid keep a player they clearly rate, Pitarch gets regular football with a coach who trusts him, and Fulham add a midfielder who already knows exactly what Arbeloa wants.

The one man who can stop it is the same man who stopped it in the summer. If Mourinho still isn’t picking him by the new year, it gets very hard to argue Pitarch is better off sat in Madrid.