Real Madrid: Three reasons why Sergio Reguilón should not be sold
By Parshva Shah
Real Madrid have a gem of a player in their ranks, a once in a decade, generational Canterano, Sergio Reguilón. Selling him would be a grave mistake and one they cannot afford to make at any cost.
Real Madrid is a club that doesn’t give many opportunities to its academy players. Over the last five years, only Mariano Díaz, Achraf Hakimi, and Sergio Reguilón have emerged as players who could play for the biggest clubs in Europe.
Mariano has played for Lyon and Real Madrid. Hakimi played for Real and Borussia Dortmund and this year, he will be wearing the colors of Inter Milan. As for Reguilón, his rise to the top hasn’t been easy.
Making his debut with Castilla in 2015-16, the left-back was sent on two consecutive loans to UD Logroñés – a Segunda División B team – during the second half of the 2015-16 season, and for the entirety of the 2016-17 season. He really stood out during the 2016-17 season, playing in an advanced role as a left winger and scoring eight league goals.
His success with Logroñés was enough to convince Santiago Solari, the-then manager of Castilla, that he can be a relevant player for the B team of Real Madrid. Reguilón continued his rise with consistent performances of Castilla, ending the season as one of the best defenders in Spain’s third division.
Julen Lopetegui, who was appointed manager after Zinedine Zidane stepped down, was quick to take notice of Reguilón’s potential and called him up for the preseason friendlies where he emerged as one of the most impressive young players. Lopetegui registered Reguilón as one of the 25 first-team players for the season.
With Marcelo clearly not at his best, Reguilón took over the reigns at left-back and performed exceptionally well. For someone making the jump from the third division to the top flight, it was exciting to see Reguilón performing better than one of the greatest left-backs of all time.
Zidane’s return to the dugout saw Real Madrid sign Lyon left-back Ferland Mendy. With Marcelo having three years left on his contract and Ferland Mendy arriving on the back of two superb seasons at Lyon, the rather inexperienced Sergio Reguilón faced Zidane’s sword.
He, however, found a suitor in Sevilla, who appointed Lopetegui manager. With Sevilla, Reguilón flourished and was easily one of the top five left-backs of the 2019-20 season. He helped the club finish fourth in the league and was a crucial figure en route to their UEFA Europa League triumph.
Two seasons of consistency and a meteoric rise are still not enough to convince Zinedine Zidane that he should be the starting left-back at Real Madrid or at least someone who could fight for a spot in the XI.
Manchester United is believed to be the landing destination for Reguilón. It is being reported that a buy-back clause would be inserted. In this article, I will be discussing three reasons why Sergio Reguilón should not be sold.