Real Reshaping from the Front

 Following the defeat against Manchester City, a multitude of questions arose as to how Real Madrid would fare for next season. Even with Varane’s blunders, Real Madrid have been defensively solid for the majority of the campaign. In one game, there cannot be proper assessment as how immense starting defenders Varane, Ramos, Carvajal and Mendy have been alongside goalkeeper Courtois this season. However, goals  have consistently been hard to come by and chance creation continues to be a massive problem. With the top two scorers Karim Benzema and defender Sergio Ramos being 32 and 34 respectively, the likelihood of them repeating these goal scoring feats seems unlikely. Therefore the question must be asked ,” Where do the goals come from next season and who can create them?”   Florentino Perez addressed that Real Madrid will not be making any big signings because of how the club has been hit by the pandemic, therefore Real Madrid must use the resources they already have. Thinking positively, below I’ll assess three players who may make a positive goal scoring or chance creation impact. 

Martin Ødegaard 

A phenomenal and standout player during the first half of the La Liga season who unfortunately suffered an injury that hampered the second half of his campaign. However, within those initial six months the quality on display was phenomenal. A line breaking passer, a workhorse in the midfield and most importantly, a left footed dead ball specialist. Something which Real Madrid have been missing over the last five years since James Rodriguez’s breakthrough season. Every time Ødegaard has taken a free kick or corner at the very least it’s caused panic in the opposition penalty area. He takes his set pieces so eloquently I believe Ramos will fall in love with him from the get-go. Ødegaard has four goals and six assists in his first season in La Liga and with better teammates this time that stat will surely increase. Add in 61% dribbles completed and a wide array of skill and flair moves would be a much needed wildcard going forward.

Vinicius Junior

A boy wonder. Someone who every time he touches the ball you get up expecting something beautiful. Vinicius Junior has that “X factor” very few footballers have and I believe he will be one of the best in the world some day. Many people place doubts on his finishing and decision making in the final third but with proper coaching and time that will surely improve. He has now spent two seasons at Real Madrid and is only getting better. With modern football consistently evolving, one of the most sought after commodities are pacy wingers who can dribble and get in behind defenses. Vinicius Junior ticks all of these boxes and if he can improve his output this season, Real Madrid will flourish. 

Eden Hazard 

Regarded as possibly the flop of the season, Eden Hazard had a first season to forget. He showed up overweight to pre-season training followed by an injury to start off the season. Positives madridistas can take from his first season however, is that when he was finally fit we saw glimpses of a player ready for the big occasion. Unfortunately these glimpses didn’t last very long and the majority of the season was spent injured or rushing back from an injury only to get injured again. We all know the kind of player he is: one of the very best in the world on his day, we saw it repeatedly at Chelsea and we need to see it now. If, (and it’s a big if) he remains healthy and playing regularly next season, our goal scoring and chance creation should improve immensely. He can be the catalyst towards a new era at Real Madrid, and only time will tell whether he lives up to his price tag or not. After contributing to over 45% of Chelsea’s goals last season we know the quality is there, just needs to be unleashed.


- Aiden Boodoo