After securing a sensational comeback win over his former side Roma, Real Madrid boss José Mourinho was full of priase for Endrick and insisted he would not be allowed to leave in January.
“I knew it was impossible to loan him [Endrick] to Roma. I knew how useful he could be to us. We absolutely battered [Mario] Hermoso for an hour, and then… Let’s say that in the first half they [Roma] killed us, and then afterwards we killed them.” Mourinho after the game, as quoted by Corriere dello Sport.
It was Endrick’s 85th-minute goal that levelled the proceedings on the night, bringing Real Madrid level with Roma, before former Giallorosso Antoio Rüdiger sunk them with a 90th-minute winner.
Mourinho also told TNT Sports Brasil that he saw no point in loaning the star 20-year-old.
“Forget it, forget it. Forget about the interested clubs. They’d better sit down and wait, otherwise they’ll get tired. “He’s a player I adore. He’s a player who I think has incredible potential and is very important to us. “Anyone interested in Endrick will have to fight me hard, because I don’t think he needs to go out on loan, and I believe he will be very successful here.”
Mourinho’s comments arrive on the back of Alan Redmond, Global Head of Football at Roc Nation Sports International, the agency that looks after Endrick, stating recently that the Brazil international has always wanted to remain at the Bernabéu.
“In Endrick’s case, he has always said he wants to stay at Real Madrid and I am convinced that this season, when he has the opportunity, he will score a lot of goals. I confirm that there was a lot of interest in him in the summer, from various countries, but his goal was never to leave Spain. For other players like Luis Henrique and Fofana we had some conversations instead. Roma is an incredible club, but there was only talk. The business mentioned was never close to closing. “The financial aspect is not important, the player evaluates the club’s project. Here we are talking about a player with the qualities to be at Real, only the opportunities are needed. Endrick was coming off his loan at Lyon and played very well in France, then he had some problems and I think it was also quite frustrating for him not to be at the top physically. The idea, however, has always been to stay in Madrid. We’ll see what happens in the future, honestly I think he’ll stay at Real for a long time. This is my opinion. “I don’t think he will move. The clubs mentioned are great, but I don’t think he’ll go play anywhere else.” Quotes sourced from Calciomercato
Endrick will hope his heroics against Roma help him find more minutes under Mourinho. Before this game, he’d been limited to just four minutes on the pitch.
His lack of game time has prompted outside noise linking him with a move away from Madrid. Roma themselves, who were blocked by Mourinho in the summer, are looking to make an approach again in January, as are rivals Milan, with Aston Villa from the Premier League also monitoring the situation.
Anshuman Joshi | GIFN