The Real Champs
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3 surprise starters for Real Madrid next season following Zidane’s departure

By Ranoveer Neogi

Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images)
Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Zinedine Zidane‘s resignation is the start of a revamp for Real Madrid. Los Blancos continue their search of finding a replacement as the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte are deemed favourites to take over next season.

Although the 2020/21 seasons ended trophyless, it was far from being a failure. It has instead provided Real Madrid with a blueprint of several key issues including a lack of squad depth, an inept medical team, and a worn-out team that seemed exhausted throughout the season.

However, there were several positives as well, players from the youth team have gotten chances to show their quality such as Antonio Blanco, Miguel Gutierrez, Sergio Arribas, and Marvin Park.

Meanwhile, a few other younger players from the senior squad have been impressive and could possibly be handed a more prominent role next season. Let’s have a look.

Real Madrid, Rodrygo Goes
Real Madrid, Rodrygo Goes (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) /

RODRYGO GOES

If you’re going to look at his statistics from this season (G+A) and judge his performances then you’re missing out on the bigger picture. Rodrygo has just scored two goals this season in all competitions along with eight assists in just about 1300 minutes of game time after a hamstring injury in December sidelined him for 65 days which saw him miss a total of 12 fixtures.

Even though the Brazilian has just one goal in La Liga last season, you need to see the quality of his goal and the composure he showed before dispatching it into the back of the net against Granada.

He carried the ball forward with pace and confidence and made an instant decision to wrap his laces around the ball upon entering the box. His consistency is something that the likes of Vinicius Jr and Marco Asensio have lacked.

In terms of assists, despite barely evening player, the 20-year-old ended the season with eight assists in all competitions- finishing third with the most assists this season along with Lucas Vazquez.

Rodrygo has proven his quality in the two seasons at the Spanish capital and has comparatively received much game time than his counterpart Vinicius Jr or Marco Asensio but has shown that he is a better winger than the mentioned two at the moment.

Verdict- Rodrygo could start next season ahead of Asensio at RW 

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