Fede Valverde brings energy to the midfield
With Martin Odegaard’s departure on loan and Valverde’s injury, Real Madrid had a very thin midfield. Zidane was forced to start Luka Modric and Toni Kroos for every match, except for the game against Getafe where Toni Kroos was suspended. With Fede Valverde’s return from injury, Zinedine Zidane will again have some options to chose from.
Toni Kroos and Luka Modric have been at their best throughout the season, and right now they cannot be dropped. But they need some rest so that they can save their stamina for the big games in the future. Fede can be used for rotation, and that can be beneficial for all the parties. And Fede Valverde isn’t any inferior player, on his day he’s one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world.
Fede had a great start to the season, registering three goals and an assist to his name. He looked very impressive, but then came a stumbling block in the form of injuries. But now, he’s back and he looked very sharp in the 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad and made an important backheel pass in the build-up to Vinicius’ goal.
Kroos and Modric are in their thirties, and we can’t expect them to keep running for 90 minutes. But the 22-year-old Fede Valverde can do that with that ease, and bring a sense of energy to the midfield. He acts as the energetic ball-carrier, and he contributes a lot in pressing. He can bring that spark right from the beginning, or from the bench like he did yesterday.
We can expect him to start in the Elche and Celta games in the near future, and he will also be the likely replacement for Casemiro in the second leg clash against Atalanta, who will be suspended for the game. He might not start this weekend in a big game against Atletico, but he will be given minutes so that he can get back into the mix easily.