Espanyol vs. Real Madrid: Los Blancos confirm squad as decisions are made on all six summer signings

Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho has included all six of the club's summer signings in his squad for Saturday's La Liga clash with Espanyol.

Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate, Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, Carlos Espi and Yan Diomande have all been named in the squad and could make their Los Blancos debuts.

However, there are six first-team absentees, with Endrick, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Rodrygo and Raul Asencio out of the match through injury.

Real Madrid have also called up youngsters Mario Rivas, Alexis Ciria and Jorge Cestero.

The match with Espanyol will officially mark the return of Mourinho as Real Madrid head coach, with the Portuguese in charge of the capital giants for the second time.

All six of Real Madrid's new signings feature in squad vs. Espanyol

“I’m feeling good. It’s the first official match of the season, but this has been happening to me for over 20 years. I’m calm," Mourinho told reporters.

"Regarding the squad, you’ve rightly pointed out the difficulty of starting at different moments and in different groups. Obviously, there are players with 36 training sessions and six matches, and others with five training sessions and a bit of a game.

"But the players and the staff are exceptional. I’ve been able to prepare differentiated work for everyone, like for those who were here only for individual training.

"Sometimes we joked because there was one player for ten people, including assistants, trainers, doctors, physios... If you ask me if I’d like to have one more week to prepare things even better, of course, yes. But I also tell you that we are already tired of friendlies.

"We want real matches, and now they’re here. The injured players from last season, with long-term injuries, I don’t expect to recover them in one, two, or three weeks. The only player unavailable for this match is Endrick, who has a minor muscle issue.

Real Madrid will be missing six players for Espanyol clash

"Tchouameni is fine and already training with the team. He’ll train today, but he has to train in the afternoon as well and will do so tomorrow and Sunday to speed up his process. Due to his injury, he’s not in the condition to play this match against Espanyol.

“Tomorrow, three will be on the bench: Rivas, Cestero, and Ciria. We have a squad that’s not too large. Militao, Rodrygo, and Ferland (Mendy) will be out for a long time.

"I really like working with 20-21 players, maximum 22. The academy players are filling these open spots and working very well with us. They won’t always be the same. I also want to motivate the kids and make them understand that the door is open.

"This week it’s these three’s turn, and it will be many others’ turn. It’s something I like to do and something I think is appreciated by La Fabrica because it’s something I believe can motivate the boys.”

Real Madrid will be aiming to wrestle the La Liga title back from Barcelona this season.