Carlo Ancelotti admits Real Madrid are 'waiting' for Marco Asensio exit decision | OneFootball

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has confessed that the club are waiting for a final decision from Marco Asensio about his future at the club.

The 26-year-old has entered the final year of his contract and has tumbled down the pecking order at the Bernabeu, with Ancelotti keeping Asensio on the bench for Real's first two games of the current campaign.

After the latest game, a 2-1 win over Almeria, Ancelotti admitted that the door remains open to Asensio but the final decision will be left to the player himself.

"He is a Madrid player and I consider him as such," Ancelotti told the press. "If he deserves to play, he will play. You have to remember the goals he scored and what he did last season.

"You have to wait until August 31 to find out what happens and what he decides."

Asensio has repeatedly been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Arsenal and Liverpool among the reported suitors, although nothing has ever come of the speculation.

He made 31 appearances in La Liga last season, 19 of which were starts, and his return of ten goals was actually third on Real's scoring charts behind Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior, but Ancelotti continues to leave Asensio on the fringes of the first team.