Dani Ceballos has returned.
To Real Madrid training that is, as speculation regarding the midfielder's future continues to rumble on.
The Spaniard spent last season on loan at Arsenal - catching the eye of many in particular after lockdown - and Mikel Arteta has confirmed he would like his compatriot to return for another spell.
"Well, we have some talks and Dani knows really well what I think about him," Arteta told reporters last week.
"He was pretty clear with me as well that his intention was to remain with us but obviously Real Madrid is involved and I don’t know yet what they want to do with the player.
"But he’s a player that we are interested in because we really saw, in the last few months of the season, what he is capable of bringing to us."
Whilst it's unclear as to what Real Madrid's plans are for Ceballos, he was back at the club's training base on Monday for the start of pre-season.
As revealed via the club's official website, Ceballos was involved in the session, which lasted about two hours.
He and his teammates began with long series of stretches, aerobic and anaerobic exercises without the ball, and then switched between a series of runs and ball work.
The latest reports suggest that the Spaniard may not return to the Emirates Stadium during the transfer window after all.
AC Milan have been credited with an interest in the player, while Mundo Deportivo claim Ceballos has now told Madrid’s hierarchy that his preference is to return to Real Betis.
With that said, Ceballos showed his support for Arsenal during their Community Shield penalty shootout win over Liverpool at the weekend.
Watching from afar, he tweeted a video of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s opening goal alongside the caption: “VAMOS @Aubameyang7 @Arsenal”, before then showing his appreciation at the quality of goal.
Will the pair be reunited this summer?
