Does Lucas Silva Have a Future in Real Madrid?

Real Madrid announced on its official website that Lucas Silva has been loaned to his previous club, Cruzeiro. This comes as no surprise as the Brazilian midfielder failed to make his mark on the first team in Madrid. Especially after a failed loan spell at Marseille last year, and a heart problem that terminated a deal to loan him to Porto at the start of this season.

Many people hailed Lucas Silva as an intelligent midfielder with brilliant passing accuracy (about 90% at Cruzeiro) and vision, not to mention his defensive work rate. However, his growth didn’t go as expected.

Now that he has been loaned for a year and half to Brazil, rather than to a club in Portugal, it seems Real Madrid has lost most hope in developing Lucas Silva into a world class midfielder.

Judging by Lucas’s age (23) and technical ability, he can improve. Nonetheless, he needs to first believe in himself. A player who needs four or five steps before he can pass with such accuracy isn’t someone who lacks skill. He lacks confidence. Some play time in Brazil should be adequate to give him that boost.

Is Lucas Silva of any benefit to Real Madrid?

Lucas’s abilities at their best are something that Real Madrid lacks right now. Compared to our midfield, he is the only player to possess both a good passing range and defensive ability. Where does it all fit? Enter Casemiro.

Casemiro is currently the undisputed defensive midfielder. His defensive ability, coupled with the lack of an individual defensive presence in the midfield has earned him a spot in the starting 11. That comes at a price though.

In order to mask Casemiro’s offensive limitations, Zidane has been forced to tinker with the team’s buildup system. Once the ball is in the first third, Casemiro advances forward, with Kroos and Modric dropping back. With Casemiro going forward as a sort of advanced midfielder, Kroos and Modric try to reach one of the front three or the full backs with a long pass. Otherwise, the midfield duo use their individual ability to get the ball forward.

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If the latter approach is used, the team ends up with a flat midfield, since neither the coach nor the midfield duo prefer relying on Casemiro to recycle possession whenever the ball is lost.With Lucas Silva (assuming he reaches his potential) however, it’s a different story.

Deploying Lucas Silva as a defensive midfielder would allow the midfield to function normally. Since now the team would have no need to alter the shape of the midfield. Not to mention, Kroos and Modric will be able to roam the final third without worrying about recycling possession. Moreover, the opposition’s counter attacks won’t be a lethal threat.

One More Major Problem in Lucas’s Face: Alternatives.

Mainly two players will obscure a spot for the Brazilian in the starting 11: Marcos Llorente and Julian Weigl. The former is a Castilla product who is constantly proving himself as midfielder with a bright future during his current loan spell at Deportivo Alaves. The latter is a 21 – years old midfielder in Borussia Dortmund’s starting 11 who has already proved that he will become a world class midfielder in a year or two. According to rumors, had Dortmund not been so stubborn, Weigl could have ended up in the white shirt last summer.

To sum up: there is still a chance for Lucas Silva to be a Real Madrid player one day. Not a big one, but it certainly does exist, and Personally I’d love to see the lad as a player in our first team.

Good Luck Lucas!