Real Madrid is expected to sell backup striker Borja Mayoral this summer, but Zinedine Zidane seems to favor the young player.
The summer window is starting to come together for Real Madrid. Gareth Bale has been loaned to Tottenham, Lucas Vazquez is almost certainly staying, and Mariano Diaz remains on the shopping block. But one player who seemed guaranteed to be sold, Borja Mayoral, might actually end up sticking around.
According to a report from Sergio Santos Chozas of AS, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane likes Borja Mayoral “a lot” and is impressed with how much the striker has grown since his two-year loan spell with Levante.
The 23-year-old is coming off his best season yet with eight goals and two assists, including a goal against Los Blancos in September. Mayoral has the tools to be a breakout player with regular playing time, but it’s hard to see him getting minutes at Real.
Borja Mayoral impresses Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane in training
Still, AS reports that Mayoral has “convinced” Zidane with his recent performances in training and could earn a few minutes in the 2020-2021 season. That would be a surprise, since Karim Benzema is the undisputed starter and Luka Jovic is headed for a bigger role in his second season. And between the two of them, Jovici s both younger and better than Mayoral.
That said, Mayoral is a good striker. He has been linked to clubs like Lazio and Valencia this summer, but both deals have seemingly fallen through. Real Madrid could loan him again or find a club willing to buy half his rights, as is the customary tradition for Los Blancos selling their youth academy products, but it’s interesting to hear that Mayoral could carve out a role.
All of this likely depends on Mariano Diaz’s future. The current striker behind Benzema and Jovic, Mariano scored a wonderful goal in El Clasico but has no real future with the club at his age. Mariano was linked to Benfica but rejected the move, and few suitors either interest him or are interested in meeting his demands.