Rayan has caught Carlo Ancelotti’s attention in a very unexpected position. The Brazil manager has praised the Bournemouth man’s performances in midfield and even brought up Ángel Di María’s famous role at Real Madrid.
That’s quite an example. Ancelotti tested the 19-year-old as a left-sided midfielder earlier this week. Now, he’s publicly explained why he believes the experiment could work.
And there’s another encouraging sign for Bournemouth’s youngster. Rayan kept his place in midfield during Friday’s final training session ahead of Brazil’s friendly against Japan.
Ancelotti explains Rayan experiment – And remembers Di María
Speaking at Friday’s press conference in Singapore, Ancelotti sounded pleased with what he’d seen from Rayan.
As reported by Brazilian outlet Band, the manager believes the Bournemouth attacker has the qualities to offer something different in midfield.
“We tried Rayan as a left-sided midfielder and he did a good job. It’s something new for him, but I think it could be an opportunity for him and also for the national team to have a player with those characteristics, a little different from a midfielder,” Ancelotti explained.
“Personally, I tried this in 2014 with Di María and it worked very well. We won the Champions League by putting a winger, who was used to playing out wide, in midfield. I think Di María did a fantastic job at the time.”
Ancelotti was referring to his Real Madrid side that won the Champions League in 2014. Di María, naturally a winger, played as a left-sided midfielder in a 4-3-3, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale further forward.
The Argentine was brilliant in that role, giving Madrid another attacking threat from midfield while helping balance the team. Now Ancelotti is looking at whether Rayan can offer something similar for Brazil. Hardly a bad reference point for the 19-year-old.
Bournemouth fans could get a first look at Rayan in midfield
There’s more to this than a passing experiment, too. According to Globo Esporte, Ancelotti kept Rayan in midfield during Friday’s final training session. He played on the left of a midfield three, alongside Bruno Guimarães and Andrey Santos.
The Brazilian coaching staff believe his attacking qualities could help him combine with Vinicius Junior down that flank. They also see his physical strength as useful when Brazil need to defend.
Ancelotti confirmed Brazil will use three midfielders against Japan, although he stopped short of naming his starting XI.
So, if Bournemouth supporters fancy seeing Rayan try his hand at something different, Saturday’s friendly against Japan might be worth a watch.
He’s looking likely to get his chance in midfield, and it’ll be interesting to see how the experiment works against actual opposition.
And who knows? If Rayan puts in a good performance, perhaps Marco Rose might fancy giving the idea a go.
