Real Madrid position preview: forwards

With the La Liga campaign now upon us, here at The Real Champs we are previewing each aspect of the team and how strong each position appears ahead of the campaign. We’ve already looked at the goalkeepers, fullbacks and center backs, and, midfielders. Now we’re going to look at the forwards in the side as well as analysing each player and summarising what we should expect from them in the 2017/18 campaign.

Borja Mayoral

Mayoral returned to the Spanish capital this year following a loan spell at Wolfsburg. The young striker is still just 20 years old. The Spaniard has been tasked with being the backup striker to Karim Benzema following the sales of Alvaro Morata to Chelsea and Mariano Diaz to Olympic Lyon.

Despite playing a lot of the preseason games for Los Blancos this season, Mayoral is not a player many would consider of high enough quality to be the backup striker in this Real Madrid team.

He only made 3 starts in Germany last season for Wolfsburg (375 mins total) and he scored a total 3 goals while appearing in 16 matches as a substitute. He had a 77% pass completion rate and was averaging 0.6 shots per game. However, his return is not good enough to be the main option coming off of the bench for Real Madrid.

When you consider that Alvaro Morata had 20+ goals last season from the bench and also with restricted minutes, it heaps the pressure on the young Borja’s shoulders. Despite having his fair share of chances during the recent U.S tour, Mayoral only scored a single goal.

In the coming season, Mayoral is going to have to make a huge impression to not only win over Zidane, but also to win over the fans. I think generally, Zidane would rather play Bale or Ronaldo as a #9 over Mayoral.

Lucas Vasquez

Lucas Vasquez has been a surprise package since his inclusion in the team during the ill-fated reign of Rafa Benitez. He was brought back to the club via his buy back clause and he has taken his chances ever since.

The 26-year-old has been a workhorse for Zidane since he took the reigns. He may not score a lot of goals or provide assists, but the Spaniard does provide a quick injection of pace, versatility, tricks, and dribbling.

He is the perfect player to bring on late to unsettle a back line as we saw in the Super Cups against both Barcelona and Manchester United where he caused problems for both sides. During the 16/17 season, he was the player with the most minutes clocked up.

Whilst he may not be a nailed down starter, he is a good asset to have. His high work rate and decent ability make him perfect for Zidane’s rotation policy.