Real Madrid boss Ancelotti downplays talk of Mbappe and Vinicius Jnr vying for the left-back spot.

Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed fears that Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jnr will fight for the same place at Real Madrid next season.

Mbappe's free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to the Santiago Bernabeu strengthens the European champions, at least in theory.

However, with Mbappe known to favor coming in from the left – the same position Brazilian Vinicius Jnr has played in for several seasons – there may be a positional conflict for Ancelotti to sort out.

In his usual unassuming way, Ancelotti doesn't believe it will be a problem.

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He told the Obi One podcast, hosted by Chelsea midfielder Jon Obi Mikel, from Italy: “Honestly, I haven't thought about it. Including Mbappé in the team will not be a problem. It is important to remember what he said: You will get used to the team. What is important is that each player must contribute talent and high quality to serve the team.

“Sometimes you can play on the left, sometimes you can play in the middle.”

Madrid is fluid, Ancelotti insists

Madrid mostly use a fluid front three with Ancelotti insisting that Vinicius Jnr never sticks to the left.

“I see [Mbappé] he plays forward, and the attack is quite wide. The field is 68 meters wide, and we have to cover those 68 meters with the front players,” he added.

“It could be Vinícius. Because if I ask you, where did Vinícius play last season, it's hard to say. He didn't play like [left] in the wing. An important key in the attacking game is the movement of the players.”

France captain Mbappe is on holiday after straining at the European Championship where he broke his nose in Les Bleus' opening match against Austria.

Didier Deschamps' team was beaten in the semi-finals by Spain who ended up winning and Mbappe scored one goal in the tournament – a penalty against Poland in the group stage.