Marcos Llorente comes back to Madrid after a successful season on loan at Alavés. He played 32 games in La Liga, making his debut in the top-flight division and becoming one of the best youngsters of the tournament. For this reason, Los Blancos decided to bring him back home, although the bosses aren’t sure about his future. Will he have enough minutes to continue with his progression?
This is the question Zinedine Zidane is thinking about. Last season, the team had some problems when Casemiro was not available. Real Madrid didn’t have an exact replacement for the Brazilian and Mateo Kovacic had to play in this position. Despite the Croatian midfielder has more offensive skills, he adapted himself perfectly to the role. Kovacic is also very young and he could be one of the best midfielders in the world with the right timing. For this reason, it would be hard for Zidane to share the minutes between Kovacic and Marcos Llorente.
At this moment, no one doubts that Casemiro is the stopper of the team. The Brazilian was crucial in the last season and he even scored two important goals in the Champions League, against Napoli and Juventus in the final. Marcos Llorente would be his replacement for the less important games. The Brazilian only played 25 games in La Liga, so there were plenty of minutes for other players.
If Mateo Kovacic is the chosen one to replace Casemiro, Marcos Llorente should leave. There are many clubs interested in getting another loan. For instance, Llorente could be included in a deal with Betis in the transfer negotiation for Dani Ceballos. Both midfielders, currently playing in the Spanish national team under 21, could be the perfect mixture for Betis.
On the other hand, if Llorente is Casemiro’s substitute, Zidane has to find a new role for Mateo Kovacic. The Croatian player could be Kroos or Modric replacement because he has offensive skills, but Isco, James Rodríguez or Asensio will be fighting for these positions as well. This is a difficult puzzle that Zidane needs to solve.
It’s very obvious. James Rodriguez is leaving the club to create space for Llorente.
Why are you putting asensio as a midfielder? He should be an attacker