Real Madrid Femenino are about to add a Galáctica to their attack
By Parshva Shah
With the league season over and a spot in the qualification rounds of the UEFA Women’s Champions League sealed, Real Madrid Femenino have shifted their focus to the next season as foundations for replenishing the squad for 2022-23 are already being laid.
It looks like Real Madrid Femenino are inching closer and closer to signing Manchester City Women’s Scottish midfielder, Caroline Weir, whose contract with the English club expires in the summer.
In a report by The Telegraph’s Tom Garry, the final agreement hasn’t been reached between the player and the club, but the club is “increasingly confident of securing Weir’s signature.”
The report also states that while Garry’s sources have stated that the deal is closer than ever, confirmation or announcement of Weir signing for Las Blancas might not come until later in the summer.
It now seems that the rumour mill that had been going on for weeks will finally conclude with the Scot being presented as the latest ‘Galáctica’ in a team that aims to take the next step in 2022-23.
Who is Caroline Weir, and what will she bring to the table for Real Madrid?
Caroline Weir is a 26-year-old attacking midfielder from Scotland who can also function as a forward, which highlights her versatility. She has scored 85 goals in 246 games in club football, which outlines that she has an eye for goal from midfield unlike very few in the world. It’s crazy that she was nominated for two successive years for the FIFA Puskas Award (best goal). Real Madrid Femenino have lacked goals from midfield, and Weir’s addition will certainly be a blessing in that regard.
She is also extremely creative with the ball at her feet. With 19 assists in the last four seasons in the FA Women’s Super League, she is one of the best players when it comes to setting up her teammates. Her 0.25 assists per 90 and 0.26 expected assists (xA) per 90, according to FBRef, put her in the 94th and 95th percentiles for those categories in the league in the last 365 days. She wasn’t nicknamed ‘Kaká’ at Hibernians when she was 14 or 15 for nothing after all.
But it’s not her ability to only score or create goals that make her so threatening. She is one of the most dangerous players in the FA WSL with the ball at her feet. Her close control and ability to find teammates from tight spaces make her an asset to any team, especially Real Madrid Femenino, who struggle to find an escape route from the opposition’s press at times.
Her dribbling abilities, coupled with the ability to change directions quickly, can cause a lot of problems for any team in the world.
Here are some of her other stats (per 90) that are worth mentioning:
- 3.09 shots (96th percentile)
- 4.76 shot-creating actions (98th percentile)
- 5.99 progressive carries (89th percentile)
- 5.68 touches in the opponent’s penalty area (96th percentile)
- 6.86 progressive passes received (95th percentile)
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All in all, the upcoming summer will surely be a very exciting one for Las Blancas’ fans. The 2022-23 season is going to be a memorable one.