"Arda is in the process of improving everything," Alonso told reporters after Madrid defeated Juventus 1-0 in the Champions League two weeks ago. "He's 20 years old and has already played a few games for Madrid. With his age and quality, we have to support him. He needs to improve his decision-making and pressing, but he has a lot of good qualities."
The former Bayer Leverkusen coach has transformed the Turkish international into one of the most creatively influential midfielders in the world since taking charge of Madrid ahead of the Club World Cup. He has nailed down a role in the starting lineup after playing just 2,197 minutes last season. "He gives great meaning to the game," Alonso added as he showered more praise on Guler. "When he's involved, we have a better team dynamic... I'm very happy with his progress, but we want more. He really enjoys playing football. He wants to find the pass, take the free kick... [Florian] Wirtz was like that at Leverkusen. He's young, but he's a great player."
However, he also hailed Bellingham as "one of the most complete players in the world," having reiterated time and again that the Englishman and Guler can thrive off of each other and feature in the lineup together. "I'm very happy for Jude. After his injury, he needed a good game," Alonso told after the Juve game, in which Bellingham scored the lone goal. "Aside from the goal, he played very well, in intermediate positions. We found him very well in the second half. I'm very happy for him. He played a very complete game. There was no space. Finding him between the lines was difficult... And he scored. I'm very happy for him; he enjoyed himself and was competitive.
"He's a midfielder, with the quality to build and the determination to finish. He's the kind of player who covers a lot of ground. He has many different qualities. That's why he's so complete, one of the most complete in the world."