Real Madrid: Who will be the surprise player of 2020?

Real Madrid have so many great young players ready to take the next step toward stardom, but who will surprise fans the most in 2020?

Since there is a break in action with the future of the 2019-2020 La Liga and Champions League campaigns up in the air, it’s time to take stock of what the future could hold for Real Madrid. And with so many talented young players on the squad or out on loan, there’s plenty of breakout potential.

Before the season’s stoppage, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and center midfielder Fede Valverde were probably Los Blancos’ most pleasant surprises.

Courtois rebounded from a poor 2018-2019 season to assert himself as the best keeper in La Liga – tied for most clean sheets, least goals allowed per 90 minutes – and remind fans around the world why he’s one of the world’s best.

Valverde, meanwhile, was the biggest breakout star, going from underrated prospect to one of Europe’s best young box-to-box midfielders. Frenkie de Jong should not be the butt of jokes from Madridistas, but it is quite true that Valverde outplayed the pricier Barcelona midfielder.

Outside of the confines of the Santiago Bernabeu – though sometimes within it – Martin Odegaard had a sensational season at Real Sociedad. After Lionel Messi, he was La Liga’s most creative playmaker, setting up chances on a platter for his heralded forwards at La Real.

And by the end of the season, Vinicius Junior resumed the form he flashed in 2018-2019, albeit with even more confidence and visible maturity.

These players were pleasant surprises, but who will take La Liga by storm for the Whites during the rest of 2020?

Looking at the squad itself, Sergio Reguilon stands out. Ferland Mendy had an excellent first season for Los Blancos, but Reguilon was the best overall left back in La Liga. He was a true star at Sevilla, adding a great deal to the attack without sacrificing anything defensively. Just 23, Reguilon could take a step towards true stardom in 2020-2021 when he returns from loan.

Rodrygo is another prime candidate to have a surprise season. He already surprised many in the Fall of 2019, scoring a wonderful debut goal in Osasuna for the second-fastest Real Madrid debut goal in history behind fellow Brazilian forward Ronaldo.

He then had a perfect hat trick at Galatasaray and showed the type of intelligence off the ball that is exceedingly rare for a teenage prospect. Rodrygo, with his off-the-charts technical quality, has a special future ahead of him and looks like the future building block Florentino Perez is hoping to unearth when he invests in young talent worldwide.

Looking beyond players who could be playing for Real Madrid in 2020, Takefusa Kubo showed slick skills and an eye for goal during limited playing time at the doomed Mallorca. Kubo should have received more playing time and didn’t have an ideal support system at Mallorca, but if he were to, say, replace Odegaard at Sociedad or play for a stronger La Liga club, Kubo could make quite the splash.

Los Merengues have a squad filled with enviable young talent, and others not mentioned like Luka Jovic and Reinier Jesus could also have massive seasons. The quality is certainly there for them and previously-mentioned names like Kubo. If we were talking odds, there’s a great chance more than one or two young players on Los Blancos put together some astounding performances when football resumes.