Carlo Ancelotti 'bets' that Federico Valverde will score over 10 goals this season

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Carlo Ancelotti 'bets' that Federico Valverde will score over 10 goals this season

Carlo Ancelotti is confident that Federico Valverde will score 10 goals at the very least this season.

Valverde has been one of Real Madrid's most impressive players of the current campaign, grabbing six goals and two assists already.

The midfielder has two goals in his last two matches, getting on the scoresheet in his team's wins over Barcelona and Elche.

Earlier in the season, Ancelotti said he was so confident his player would net double figures in it that he wouldn't deserve to keep coaching if the Uruguayan didn't, and the Italian is now fancying his chances of being proved right.

"I made a bet, but I think he’ll score more than 10 this season," he said.

"If he scores four more then I get to keep my coaching license! He keeps surprising us. He does well on the wing or in midfield."

Ancelotti has changed his forward line around a lot this season with Valverde sometimes playing on the right wing and sometimes in central midfield with Rodrygo out wide.

The Italian is pleased to have different options and wants his attack to be fluid and interchanging as it was against Elche.

"We wanted Rodrygo to have flexibility, while [Karim] Benzema moves a lot too. I think we had good balance to occupy all the attacking spaces well," he said.

Marco Asensio came on to play in that forward line himself and got a goal, his first in a season that could well be his last at the club with his contract expiring.

However, Ancelotti hasn't ruled out the player signing a new deal and has promised to play him more often going forward.

"He has always showed that he can play and he’ll have more minutes in the future. We’ll speak about his contract after the World Cup," he stated.