Real Madrid: Ranking the 5 best young players of the 2021/22 Season

3. CM/RM Federico Valverde

Federico Valverde is one of the best midfielders of the future. If there’s someone who I think can replace Luka Modric in the near future, it is this guy. Not that he possesses all the technical qualities that Modric has. No, but the Uruguayan can very well match his energy. He can run errands and even put in double shifts to help the team. His shooting from distance is spectacular. The speed with which he carries the ball forward and shoots the ball reminds me of the 2014 Luka Modric.

Just like Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo Goes, Federico Valverde too stepped up in the most crucial stages of the game. He has had his moments of brilliance this season and is the reason why Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League, the LaLiga Santander, and the Supercopa de Espana.

This season, Federico Valverde has scored 1 goal and assisted 2 in all competitions for Real Madrid. This is very less, yes it is. When you see a player like him play, you would expect 10-15 G+As a season. It can be seen as his bad luck. But his goal and assist came when needed the most. His goal came in the Supercopa de Espana semi-final against Barcelona and was the decider in that game. And his assist? I guess everybody saw that beautiful ball beating all the Liverpool defenders to reach Vinicius Junior, just for him to tap it in as the winning goal in the UEFA Champions League final.

Unlike last season, the fewer injury scares for Federico Valverde enabled us to see the best version. His athleticism is top-notch and as I said earlier, he put in double shifts in the most crucial stages of the season.

Near the end, we saw Carlo Ancelotti using a 4-4-2 transforming into a 4-3-3 when attacking. Federico Valverde started all the crucial games and was asked to play as a right winger in attack and a right back to help Dani Carvajal in defence. Around the 70’, we would see one of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos going off for Rodrygo who would then do the Uruguayan’s role. Federico Valverde would then play more centrally.

The 23-year-old is a fantastic box-to-box midfielder, one of the best in the world. Statistically speaking, Federico Valverde averages 1.3 tackles, 0.8 interceptions and 0.5 clearances a game. Apart from that, he attempts 1 shot, 0.7 key passes, 36.6 passes (with 87.8 pass completion rate), 1.5 long balls and 1 dribble a game.

The Uruguayan ‘Falcon’ is improving with each passing day, and it will not be a surprise if we see Carlo Ancelotti using Federico Valverde as a right winger next season, replacing Marco Asensio as a starter.