Real Madrid Loaned Players: February Update
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid have begun to use their youth academy more and more as manager Zinedine Zidane’s time at Real Madrid has gone along. This higher dedication to brining players up through the academy to one day be a first team player is a critical goal at the club right now. Ben Sundock gives you an inside look at all Real Madrid players who are currently out on loan.
Jesús Vallejo: (CB) Eintracht Frankfurt
Jesús Vallejo may be the most underrated Real Madrid player currently on loan. All the attention is on Marcos Llorente, Martin Ødegaard, and Lucas Silva but, more people should pay attention to what the 20 year-old center back Vallejo is doing in the Bundesliga.
Loaned out by Los Blancos in July of 2016 for one season, Vallejo has seen regular minutes for Frankfurt starting 17 games in the league and coming on as a sub twice, meaning he has appeared in all of Frankfurt’s games this season. And clearly, Vallejo has done well as Frankfurt sit third in the German league, ahead of Borussia Dortmund.
In his 19 league appearances this season and 1 cup appearance (the DFB Pokal), Vallejo has accumulated 1,622 minutes of playing time, averaging a 6.95 rating according to Whoscored.com. While his match rating may not be off the charts, his play on defense is note worthy. Vallejo is a fantastic on ball defender, averaging 1.4 tackles a game and 3.1 interceptions a game, and averaging less than one foul a game.
Not to mention, Vallejo is very smart about his positioning and when to go in on a challenge. Vallejo has picked up only 3 yellows all season and averaging less than one foul a game. You can see through his highlights that he has the mental needed to be a great player.
Vallejo’s play style and figure remind me of Raphael Varane. While he may not be at the same level as Varane, I could see him develop into a similar, aerial winning, over powering defender. Playing regular first team minutes against tough competition has already improved Vallejo’s ability and he will only get better as the year progresses.
Diego Llorente: (CB) Málaga CF
Diego Llorente is well behind where Jesús is despite being three years older than him. While making 12 appearances for Malaga thus far this season, Diego has an average match rating of 6.68, substantially lower than Jesús in fewer appearances. Diego has also picked up one yellow card and one red card, and averages 1.2 fouls a game.
Llorente is credited with one goal (shown above) and one assist. The most impressive stat from Llorente is his interception rate per game, at 3.1 interceptions. Llorente has had a tough run of form as of late, receiving no higher than a 7 out of 10 rating on Who Scored in his last 7 appearances. His best game of the season came in September against Eibar where Diego picked up a 7.57 rating and won Man of the Match honors.
Llorente, now at age 23, might be on his way out of Madrid due to his inability to really develop into a true number 1 at center back. After a loan stint at Rayo Vallecano and now on one with Malaga, I wouldn’t be surprised if Los Blancos reassessed Diego and maybe sold him to one of these clubs that he’s played for on loan because right now, it doesn’t look like Real Madrid need Llorente in their squad.
Next: Is There A Budding Rivalry Between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo?
Martin Ødegaard: (CAM) SC Heerenveen
Young Martin Ødegaard finally was loaned out to Eredivisie side SC Heerenveen after rumors of him leaving Real Madrid circulated through the football world for nearly a year. Since arriving in the Netherlands, Ødegaard has already played 5 games, appearing in four league games and one cup game.
Ødegaard has an average match rating of 6.32 since joining the Dutch side. It is clear in watching his play and his link up that the now 17 year-old has the technical skills and dribbling ability to be world class but, there is a noticeable skill difference between Ødegaard and the rest of his teammates. The evidence is clear in the match highlights from SC Heerenveen’s away loss to Utrecht this past weekend:
While Ødegaard likely won’t win any trophies with a subpar Dutch side, he will get quality minutes and get some much needed experience with a European first team.
Ødegaard was loaned out at the beginning of January and will stay in Holland until the summer of 2018. At the conclusion of the loan, Ødegaard will be just 19 years old and still years away from the prime of his career which is very intriguing to Real fans and coaches. He’s not at his peak yet but, it’s clear that Ødegaard has what it takes to be an elite midfielder in Europe not so far in the future.
Marcos Llorente: (CDM) Deportivo Alaves
Brother of Diego Llorente, Marcos, is a technically sound, fluid defensive midfielder. Playing the holding midfield position this season for Alaves has strengthened Marcos’ game significantly. Much like Martin Ødegaard, Marcos is great with the ball on his feet.
The 22 year-old Spanish international is exactly the guy Real Madrid want to develop for down the road. Making 18 La Liga appearances and 4 Copa Del Rey appearances, averaging a 7.26 rating, Marcos has been nothing short of stellar.
Strong on the ball and off, Marcos is a pest on defense and offense with his shifty footwork and quick touches. A huge plus for a holding midfielder is if they can push up the field when needed and provide pressure on the attack, Llorente does that.
While he does prefer to stay deep, just in front of the back line, he can take shots, averaging .4 shots a game according to Who Scored, which is certainly more than expected from a defense first player.
The only problem for Marcos is he will have to compete with the likes of Casemiro and maybe Toni Kroos in the middle of the park when he returns from loan. But, with his performance away from the club, the two usuals in the starting XI should be wary of the young Spaniard.
If Zidane decides that Marcos doesn’t fit into his plans, Real could get substantial money from another European club as Marcos is becoming heavily sought after. Llorente is valued at €7.5 million according to Transfer Market.
If you’re a fan of good midfield play, keep tabs on this guy. He will be back in a white shirt come August.
Lucas Silva: (CDM) Cruzeiro
Lucas Silva hasn’t played soccer since the fall of 2015 when he was on loan at Marseille. Although the loan was set to be a year, Marseille chairman Vincent Labrune decided to terminate Silva’s loan and wanted him to go on loan to Anderlecht in Belgium.
Silva, however, did not want to play with Anderlecht so he turned down the loan possibility and decided to not play the entire second half of the 2015/2016 season.
It was at the beginning of the summer of 2016 in July while taking the physical for Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon that the medical team discovered Silva had a heart condition that made his heart beat irregularly. This caused the Portuguese side to terminate the loan deal and Silva was again unable to play.
Now, Lucas Silva has the opportunity to get his career back on track with a loan stint at his former Brazilian club, Cruzeiro. Silva was cleared to play again in December, and with the Brazilian league season set to kickoff in a couple weeks, Silva will be an option.
Burgui: (Winger) Sporting de Gijón
Burgui is a player who has flown well under the radar of seemingly everyone. Valued at just €1 million, and now age 23, it doesn’t seem like Burgui has much of a chance to break into the Real Madrid first team.
After a loan stint in 2015/2016 with Espanyol making 23 appearances and scoring only 1 goal, and now in 14 games with Sporting de Gijón, Burgui hasn’t scored once.
I couldn’t even find match ratings for Burgui or any highlights so, I assume that he has struggled to break through and make a significant impact on either team he’s had loan stints with and therefore, has no permanent place in the Real Madrid starting XI.
Just look at the other wingers in the club currently.
Borja Mayoral: (ST) Wolfsburg
Borja Mayoral can be good. That is, if he got the right amount of time on the pitch. In his first loan stint since joining Real Madrid, the 19 year-old Mayoral is bursting onto the scene by getting some minutes for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, much like Jesús Vallejo.
While Mayoral may have only played 293 minutes in 12 appearances, and has made only 2 starts in those 12 games. Mayoral scored his only goal of the season December 3rd in a loss to Hertha Berlin, one of the two games he started this season.
The downside on Mayoral’s stats is that he makes very dribbles a game (.8) and takes very few shots per game (.4) according to Who Scored. Mayoral may be one of those players that Real Madrid reassess in the summer once he returns from loan and then decides how to proceed. With both Alvaro Morata and Mariano Diaz both performing well when on the pitch, and both under the age of 23.
The only way I see Mayoral breaking into the first team is if either Karim Benzema or Alvaro Morata leave, then Mayoral will act as Mariano has for the majority of this season, seeing play here and there depending on the competition and injuries.