1. RB Vinicius Tobias / Sergio Santos
Here is where the serious business starts. Real Madrid probably signed the best prospect in the right-back position in world football at the moment. Shakhtar Donetsk’s Vinicius Tobias arrives at Valdebebas on a loan transfer until 2023 with an option to buy for Los Blancos. I don’t know if it’s just me or does this transfer smell of the first team? Vinicius Tobias is an exciting prospect and I’d like to stay alive to the possibility of him playing for the first team in a couple of years.
Either way, the right-back is a major problem area for Los Blancos. It has been very unpredictable, to say the least. At times, Dani Carvajal’s form had been so bad that Lucas Vazquez seemed to be the better option. Then, Carvajal goes on to roll back the years and drop a masterclass against Manchester City in the semifinals of the Champions League. He reclaimed his big-game player nature and made the difference when it mattered the most.
Even then, his consistency and injury frequency has been a major concern for the club management. And, relying on Lucas Vazquez just doesn’t seem like the option to go for Los Blancos. They have one right-back away on loan at Fiorentina, Alvaro Odriozola, who has made a meal of his time in the Serie A. Another way to try and save some of the transfer budgets is to try out their home-grown youngsters.
I already talked about Vinicius Tobias. But, he is just 18 years old and his opportunities have been hard to come by on the Castilla side being a mid-season transfer. He has only featured twice off the bench. Probably, he’d be given a more frequent role once the new season starts. In the meantime, Sergio Santos has been at his very best. He wears the number 2 shirt and his crosses and powerful shots through the crowd remind me of the three-peat version of Dani Carvajal. This season alone, he has scored two goals and assisted four for his teammates. He also played 10 minutes with the first team in the 6-1 thrashing of Mallorca.
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Honestly, give any of these two promising right-backs a decent go with the first team. Madridistas are waiting to see these players just to check if they’re good enough in these positions of need. There are more promising players like Rafa Marin, Mario Gila, and Miguel Gutierrez, to name a few. But, if you ask me the least three who should get their chance against Levante, you just read my picks and reasoning.