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

2. CB Eder Militao

Ever since joining Real Madrid from Porto in 2018/19, the Brazilian had failed to live up to the high expectations that the €50 million price tag brought. But we cannot blame Militao for this. It was the lack of opportunities that came his way in the initial seasons of his Real Madrid career.

It was a great season for Eder Militao to remember. To be honest, when you look at him playing, you would feel like he is not one of the best players on the pitch. But when it comes to stepping up, Eder Militao deserves to be ranked two.

Real Madrid lost both the starting defenders in one go. Raphael Varane to Manchester United and Sergio Ramos to Paris Saint-Germain. With a new defender by his side, Eder Militao adapted well to the situation and stood strong.

While it might be a challenge for most youngsters to adapt to change, Eder Militao converted this challenge into an opportunity. He learned the best techniques from the best defenders of the world to improve his overall game. Have you noticed how he shoots from distance or passes long balls to Vinicius Junior to switch the play? That’s what he learned from David Alaba.

Statistically speaking, has scored 1 goal with 2 assists in 46 games for Real Madrid. He averages 2.5 aerials won, 1.6 tackles, 1.7 interceptions, 3 clearances, and 0.8 blocks a game. He averages 57.5 passes with 88.4% passing accuracy and 3.5 long balls a game.

Now, Eder Militao is not as consistent as you would expect a player to be a starter for Real Madrid. But he delivered top results in the most crucial fixtures. In the last few LaLiga games, Eder Militao looked pretty lost. He was not performing his usual self and committed a lot of mistakes.

It started to scare many Madridistas and even the management that Liverpool might make the most of the Brazilian’s poor form by pressurizing him and forcing him to commit mistakes. But Eder Militao has Real Madrid DNA. He rather played the best of his games against Liverpool.

He showed the world why Real Madrid invested in him and how will he return them this favour.

This is just the start of the 24 years old’s professional career and he still has a lot to offer to the club for the next 9-10 years. With his contract expiring in 2025, Real Madrid is preparing a new much-improved contract to extend his contract till 2028 to reward him for his stand-out performances.