For many Real Madrid fans, when the club announced the signing of Endrick from Palmeiras last summer, the hype for the player was through the roof. Just 18-years-old at the time, the Brazilian was dubbed "the next Pele" and given his resume in Brazil, he arrived with high expectations on his shoulders.
However, life at Real Madrid has been somewhat rocky for the youngster. We've seen incredible moments from Endrick, like scoring in all of his Copa del Rey, La Liga, and Champions League debuts last season. But we've also seen him on the bench more than on the pitch, which has had a major impact on his young career.
Endrick was always going to struggle to get into an attacking trio with established players like Vinicius Jr, Kylian Mbappe, and Rodrygo, but he definitely deserves more minutes than what Xabi Alonso has given him this season. And he got those minutes in Real's narrow Copa del Rey victory this week, and he showed Xabi Alonso exactly what he can bring to the table when given a fair opportunity.
Endrick taught Xabi Alonso a brutal lesson (but it's too late)
Last week, in a rare start this season against Talavera in the Copa del Rey, Endrick had an all-around solid game on his part, but with the January transfer window only weeks away, it may be too little too late to save his Real Madrid season.
For all you stat people out there, when taking a detailed look at Endrick's game against Talavera, we can see that he was one of the few Real Madrid players who actually had a solid game during the all-around disappointing team performance. Against Talavera, Endrick's stats were:
• 77 minutes
• 35 touches
• 1 dribble completed
• 4 fouls won
• 2/3 long balls
• 4 shots
• 100% crossing
• 5 duels won
• 2 chances created
• 2 big chances created
For the 19-year-old who's barely had a kick of the ball this season, he came into his first start of the season with a point to prove, and he seemingly proved it. Believe it or not, his two chances created in that game are the most created by a Real Madrid player in a game this season. He came near to being on the scoresheet and providing an assist, but in the end, it wasn't meant to be for the Brazilian in that regard.
We saw it time and time again under Carlo Ancelotti last season, and now we've seen it under Xabi Alonso this season, that when Endrick is given an opportunity, he can put in quite the performance, bringing up the discussion of whether or not the teenager deserves more minutes and a fair run in the team.
Given the lack of productivity from every attacker other than Kylian Mbappe, what harm could it do to give Endrick regular minutes as a starter to try to bring the fire back to the attacking line?
Unfortunately, this good performance may have come at a time that is too little, too late. The January transfer window is only weeks away, and with a loan move to Lyon all but agreed, and Real Madrid only having one game left before the transfer window opens, Endrick may already played his last game for Real Madrid this season.