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This article is part of Football FanCast's Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba's haircuts to League Two relegation battles...

Real Madrid are not exactly enjoying the best of times.

They were thumped 3-0 by PSG in the Champions League earlier this week and that result came off the back of an underwhelming start to life in La Liga.

Zinedine Zidane's first four La Liga matches left a lot to be desired, as Real registered two wins and two draws.

And precisely for those reasons, the latest reports coming out of Mundo Deportivo about a potential heir to the Frenchman's throne don't really come as a surprise.

The Catalan outlet state that Florentino Perez, Los Blancos' president, is considering Xabi Alonso as a candidate to take over if Zidane is dispensed with.

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Of course, there are arguments for both sides of the discussion - Alonso, for all his pedigree and reputation as a player, is still fairly inexperienced as a coach. He spent some time with Real Madrid's youth crop back in the 2018/19 season, and now, he's the current manager of Real Sociedad B, a team he's led in a total of four matches so far.

By all means, that's not a sublime resume.

The other side of the coin is the shiny one, though: he's ambitious, he's got the character, good history as a player, especially while donning the white kit of the Galacticos - he won La Liga and the Champions League - and most importantly, Perez likes him a lot, as Mundo Deportivo reveal. These are all things that a viable Real Madrid coach needs to have.

But "don Perez" also has to be patient with him.

If it's really Alonso he wants, it needs to happen at the right time - not too soon and not too late. At the moment, we're still in the "too soon" area.

Real need an experienced coach to guide them through choppy waters and Alonso is not there just yet, even if he is slowly approaching the point where he can be considered as a viable option for a club like Los Blancos.

Right now, Perez simply can't afford another failed project; giving Alonso the reins would simply be too much too soon, and will only reduce the chances of him being at the helm when it is the right time, when the right squad is in place and he's accumulated the right level of experience.

Perhaps, though, it can happen at some point in the future.