It's clear that Real Madrid are struggling this year in more than one area. The group is struggling to play together as a unified team, and that can be down to a number of reasons, but one reason in particular is a number of poor individual performers affecting the team as a whole, and one of the most obvious underperformers so far has been Fede Valverde.
The Uruguayan has struggled to make any impact whatsoever so far this season, and hasn't looked up to the task this season of being the heir to Toni Kroos, looking completely out of his depth in the midfield. Valverde and Tchouameni don't work as a midfield pairing, and it has never been more obvious than through the early stages of this season, and for the benefit of Real Madrid as a whole, something has to change, and it has to change now. Thankfully for Valverde, there is another area on the pitch that is also struggling, an area where he has shown in the past he can be useful: right-back.
Whether he likes it or not, right-back is Fede Valverde's calling
Real Madrid brought in Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries this summer of the back of a strong World Cup and with the belief he would be a better fit for Jose Mourinho's system. However, the Dutchman has been unconvincing and has yet to put in a performance that shows he is worthy of being the starting right-back. Trent Alexander-Arnold was brought in last summer to be the future of the right-back position; however, despite strong performances when given the opportunity, he hasn't convinced Jose Mourinho, leaving the right-back position somewhat up in the air.
With Valverde being the captain, and Jose Mourinho showing no signs of willingness to drop him despite his struggles in midfield, whether Valverde likes it or not, switching him to right-back would be best for the team and even for him.
When you watch Valverde play, it's clear he's not a central midfielder. He likes to drift out to the right and get involved in the attack from out wide, so why not switch him to right-back, where he'll still be able to push up down the right flank while also doing his defensive work. Jose Mourinho made late-game substitutions against Roma and put Valverde at right-back, where he looked much better than he did earlier in the game in midfield, and Real Madrid went on to stage a late-game comeback win.
Valverde is much more suited to be a right-back, and for Real Madrid, it would be the best thing Jose Mourinho could do. Whether the player would be open to the idea remains a different story; after the Roma match, he said he's willing to play where the manager needs him to, and he's played at right-back before for other managers like Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti; however, he wasn't willing to under Xabi Alonso and made that very publicly known. So despite being the best thing for Real Madrid, whether or not it will actually happen is still unknown at this time.
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