Why is Real Madrid bringing Omar Mascarell back?
By Ben Sundock
On loan at Eintracht Frankfurt, Real Madrid has reportedly exercised the option to buy back midfielder Omar Mascarell. But who is Omar Mascarell and why do Los Blancos want him back?
Many Real Madrid will not know who Omar Mascarell is despite having spent six years with the Spanish giants. Yes, that’s right, Mascarell signed with Real Madrid in 2010 joining the youth academy before working his way up the ranks of youth teams within the club.
Despite spending from 2010 to 2016 with Real Madrid, the midfielder only played one match for nine minutes with the Madrid first-team.
So, why do Real Madrid want to bring back this seemingly no-name player? As a trial for Zinedine Zidane and Omar Mascarell.
With reports emerging that Real Madrid is going to exercise the €4 million option to buy the Spaniard back from Frankfurt, Zidane will get the chance to test out Omar in the preseason before deciding whether or not the club should sell him on to another club permanently, or keep him in the squad.
Taking a closer look at the deal with the 25-year-old can tell us a few things about what the future holds for Real Madrid. First, it could mean that Marcos Llorente could be sold in order to make room for Mascarell who is also a defensive midfielder.
Second, it could mean that the two younger CDM’s will fight for a backup position behind Casemiro in the lineup. Finally, it could also indicate a shift in formation strategy from Zizou.
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Mascarell is a low-key player who is a valuable defender but does not offer much on the attacking side of the ball. He has never scored a goal on the senior level, and despite playing in nearly 40 matches with Frankfurt in the last two seasons, he has not contributed a goal or assist.
According to Marca, he is impressive when it comes to defensive responsibilities.
“He missed the last four matches of last season but was still was the midfielder with the second highest number of balls intercepted (105), fourth highest for balls won (60), ninth highest for aerial challenges won (68) and he was 14th in the list of most passes made (1,472).”
So, while I see why Real Madrid want to experiment with Omar during the preseason this coming summer, I think the team has the best CDM combination possible right now.
Casemiro has proven to be a world-class defender in the midfield who has the potential to push up the pitch and take quality shots. Marcos Llorente, on the other hand, has shown in his last two league appearances that his lockdown defense and accurate passing should see him in the lineup more often.
In an interview, Omar explained how it has gone switching from more of a forward to a commanding defensive midfield. “Slowly but surely I have gone backward but I am very happy with my new role and I have improved a lot defensively. I have prepared myself well physically for the Bundesliga. I like to help out in other areas as well as ensuring the team has the ball.”
“To return would be a dream. Madrid are the best team in the world.”
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I will be very curious to see if and when this deal becomes official as well as how Mascarell plays the rest of the season with Frankfurt.