On deadline day, Real Madrid came to an agreement with Rennes and signed an 18-year-old French midfield prodigy, Eduardo Camavinga on a 30 million euro – plus add-ons – deal. The need for a midfielder was eminent in the Spanish Capital and Camavinga was always in the discussion as the biggest prospect in midfield.
He’d be working as a rotational piece for Carlos Casemiro and would be one that the club would see as a cornerstone of their future midfield three. On that note, here are five things that you need to know about Real Madrid’s latest smart buy.
1. Eduardo Camavinga’s versatile play makes him an attacking threat
The first thing of interest to note about Camavinga is his versatility on the pitch. He is capable of playing anywhere in the middle of the park. At Rennes, Camavinga was largely seen in a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1 while also sometimes using a two-man midfield in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2. His natural position would be the right of the central midfield.
His role is largely transitional being the player who drops back to collect the ball and bring it out from the back. He succeeds in doing so in tight spaces using his quick feet, exceptional dribbling skills, and control to evade opposition press. He has exceptional body shape while receiving balls and drops his center of gravity to turn away from defenders. All these qualities together make him very press resistant.
He is a bundle of energy in the middle of the park. He passes quickly and moves to a more favorable position to receive a pass back. This means that even when his passing is conservative, he finds space to take the ball. This way, he both, recycles possession and then is in a position to do something more aggressive with it.
Camavinga likes influencing games and is often on the hunt for an opportunity to do so. He is always looking to play forward, through the lines, or carry it, even if there is more than one opponent to beat. As a left-footed player operating on the right, he can drive balls up the pitch vertically or open his body and send passes out towards the left with ease.
2. The new Real Madrid man’s defensive skills and the nickname, ‘Tacklevinga’
Camavinga stands out defensively as well. His tackling is excellent which is also why he is nicknamed ‘Taklevinga’ among the regular Ligue 1 opponents. His stats in tackling are in absolute elite company and he believes a tackle to be visually more appealing than an interception which is why he can be seen attempting them more often.
He often adopts a wide crouching stance before lunging forwards when the ball is slightly further from the opponent’s feet. As a child he practiced Judo which explains his balance, elasticity, and his ability to dive and then bounce back to his feet immediately. Another example of his energy and dynamism is his committed pressing. He’ll win the ball all-game and release it to more eventful areas of the pitch.
With tackling becoming such a major part of his game, his numbers on blocks are quite low, and interceptions are next to negligible. His energetic pressing can be shaped a little to give more rigor to his defensive positioning. And at nearly six feet tall, his numbers in the air also can be improved. To say the least, he would be the perfect rotational piece for Real Madrid’s midfield currently and in the long run a capable replacement for either of the aging duo of Luka Modric or Toni Kroos.
3. Eduardo Camavinga is already a holder of several unique records
For his age, Camavinga has already set several significant records. He is one of the youngest debutants in the history of Rennes and the French National team. He made his debut for Rennes at the age of 16 years and four months and since then has become a more regular name on the starting XI.
Additionally, he is the second-youngest debutant for the French National team since 1914. In other words, he is the youngest player to play for Les Bleus since World War II. He played his first game in the National colors when he was 17 years and 11 months old. In this, he even surpassed Kylian Mbappe who was 18 years and three months old during his debut for France.
Camavinga already has three National Caps under his belt and he also succeeded to score a brilliant overhead kick on his second game against Ukraine. This also made him the country’s youngest goalscorer in over a hundred years and the second-youngest scorer for France overall.
At the club level too, Camavinga has his share of records. He is the youngest player to record an assist in the French top tier, which came in a statement 2-1 victory for Rennes against PSG. He also became the first player born after January 1, 2002, to start a match across Europe’s top five leagues, when he was named in the starting XI for a match against Monaco.
4. Plenty of big-stage experience at eighteen years of age
For an eighteen-year-old, Camavinga has a ton of big stage experience. As mentioned earlier, he has three appearances for the French National team in Friendlies and Nations League matches. He already has shocked with his first-team minutes in the French top flight. He started in 2018/19 with seven appearances.
Next season, the number went up to 25 with the current No. 25 for Real Madrid nearly cementing that starting spot. He also scored a goal while assisted two in the 2019/20 season, per FBref. In the next season, he played 35 games for Rennes, again substantiating his importance to the side. It was yet again a goal and two assist season for the wonderkid. He ranks 107th in minutes played in Ligue 1 with the next youngest player being Monaco’s Benoit Badiashile who is a year and a half older. And, in Europe’s top five leagues, the only teenagers who have played more are Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Barcelona’s Pedri.
It’s noteworthy that Camavinga also has decent European experience with Rennes. He played in the Europa League in 2019-20 and also the Champions League in 2020-21. Camavinga faced the likes of Chelsea, Sevilla, and Krasnodar in the Champions League. He, therefore, has plenty of big stage experience, and now that he has been called up by Real Madrid for their first team, there’s no doubt that all these pockets of experience have done him good.
5. Eduardo Camavinga bossed the likes of Marco Verratti and Marquinhos
And finally, last but not the least. The most important highlight of Camavinga’s footballing career to know about is his performance against PSG in Ligue 1 2019/20. Rennes ultimately won 2-1 after being down 0-1 and it was a lot about Camavinga’s performance. Almost every other Camavinga special skills video will have this match’s snippet in them. It was one special performance from the wonderkid.
The new Real Madrid signing bossed the midfield with his neat and tidy one/two touch passing. He drove the Parisians crazy and made them resort to silly challenges. Camavinga displayed a good mix-up of everything he’s capable of. He was seen leading counters and carrying the ball forward which as we know today is one of the highlights of his play. He obviously had a healthy chunk of tackles, as he is known for. His quick feet and dribbling were clearly visible in the way he was beating PSG players and of course, he won freekicks as the game progressed.
He finally found his reward early on, in the second half. When his assist was converted by Romain Del Castillo in the 48th minute. The goal remained the difference between the two sides and Rennes achieved a historic 2-1 win against the giants. With this, he also became the youngest ever player to record an assist in Ligue 1.
The erstwhile 2019/20 season was a satisfying one for Rennes. They also qualified for the Champions League 2020/21. And, most importantly this season can be termed the breakout season for Eduardo Camavinga. He registered 25 appearances and went on to become a regular name in the coming season. Now with Real Madrid, a lot will be expected out of the youngster who seemingly would be a good fit under the Carlo Ancelotti system.