What does the future hold for Real Madrid loanee Raul de Tomas?
By Alex McVey
Real Madrid canterano Raul de Tomas has been lighting it up on loan for Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish second division, but his future remains uncertain.
Raul de Tomas has been hanging out in the Real Madrid system almost his whole career. Joining the Real Madrid youth team in 2004, de Tomas began a series of loan spells in 2015, moving from Cordoba to Valladolid to Rayo Vallecano, where he now plies his trade in the Spanish second division.
De Tomas is having one heck of a season for Rayo, scoring goals left and right. The Madrid-born strikerHe’s the second top scorer in the Segunda, and has played a huge part in helping Rayo get to second place in the Segunda, well on their way to achieving promotion back up to La Liga.
With the wind in his sails, de Tomas has his eyes on a return to the Real Madrid first team setup, where he played just a few sparse minutes all the way back in 2014. His contract with Madrid is up in 2018, but de Tomas is hoping for an extension and a promotion to full-time duties with the first team. Adrian Garcia of ESPN.COM reports that de Tomas is keen on a move back to Real Madrid, and hopes that his current good form will help win him an extended stay. Robbie Dunne of AS notes that de Tomas has been speaking with the press lately about his “dream” to play consistently for Real Madrid.
But it’s going to be really hard for de Tomas to break into Real Madrid’s already packed squad. Just ask Borja Mayoral what life is like for the backup striker at Real Madrid. When even the likes of Alvaro Morata weren’t able to find consistent enough minutes to stay at Madrid, it’s hard to see de Tomas making it work.
So where else could de Tomas end up? Carlos Volcano of Tribal Football suggests that Valencia are interested in getting de Tomas’ signature. Football Espana also indicate that Valencia are after de Tomas. A club like Valencia seems like a great option for de Tomas.
Regardless of where de Tomas ends up, it’s going to be really tricky for him to break into the Real Madrid first team. One need just consider the career of Mariano Diaz at Real Madrid to see how hard it is for a striker to make it playing first team football at Madrid. Mariano was a good backup player for Madrid who made the most of his limited opportunities, but still couldn’t find sufficient minutes. He’s now doing great things in Ligue Un for Lyon, and Real Madrid are left wondering what might have happened.
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Let’s hope de Tomas finds a solution that works for him. Real Madrid have an excellent youth system, and it’s always good to see Madrid’s canteranos make it, even if it’s not with the Madrid first team.