RANKING REAL MADRID’S TOP LOAN PERFORMERS
The La Liga title race looks set to be heading right to the wire with the usual pair in contention for the crown. Both have had their ups and downs with both form and injury. It makes you wonder what Zinedine Zidane has made of his squad players out on loan.
After all, some of them have shown glimpses that suggest they could have contributed. Here we rank their top loanees and put our thoughts forward on their future.
Number 5. Dani Ceballos
Ceballos was supposed to be an ideal player for the so-called Arsenal way. Ceballos hasn’t been helped by injury part way through the campaign but, even so, the fact he’s only completed 90 minutes on four out of 26 occasions has hardly given Zidane a reason to extend his stay in the Spanish capital.
He’s far from a bad player and the Gunners are reportedly keen to keep him but they and Real operate with somewhat different targets in mind.
Verdict: Miss. He won’t play for Real again.
Number 4. Alberto Soro
Madrid forked out a couple of million for Soro last summer before immediately loaning him back to Zaragoza. This term, the young wide man has been in decent form for the promotion contenders with his displays keeping experienced head Shinji Kagawa out of the team.
Four goals and a further five laid on for teammates in the league is a decent return and he’ll be hoping he can sprinkle a little more quality in the coming weeks to secure his childhood team promotion. If he does, another spell with them could await – only this time in La Liga.
Verdict: Another loan spell looks likely.
Number 3. Oscar Rodriguez
Look beyond his loan teams league position and realise that without Rodriguez in their side they’d be dead and buried already. Leganes are the league’s lowest scorers with just 23 goals to their name. The 21-year-old loanee has been involved in 11 of them having scored nine and assisted a further two.
Zidane is known to admire the winger, but his next step will depend on whether Zidane wants him at the Bernabeu for the occasional cameo or another loan spell to develop him further. Either way, the kid has what it takes to make it to the top. If you have any doubt, I suggest you check out his free kick from Friday night. Wow.
Verdict: Hit. It’s just a case of when.
Number 2. Martin Odegaard
The odds might be against them but given the fixtures that lay ahead of Real Sociedad, it’s quite feasible that they’ll make a late surge towards European football qualification. If that happens, the displays of Odegaard will have been a significant contributor. He had already proven his qualities in Holland but his summer loan to another La Liga club was a real step up. It’s fair to say he’s handled it.
His bravery on the ball and desire to play forwards at every opportunity would have the Madrid fans onside immediately. Despite that, the classy youngster looks set to stay at Sociedad for another year whilst talk of using Odegaard as a makeweight in transfer dealings is surely misplaced. Allowing him to leave without barely featuring would be a big mistake.
Verdict: Hit but not for 12 months.
Number 1. Achraf Hakimi
Bayern Munich might have recently won the Bundesliga crown but Borussia Dortmund have had a pretty solid season too. The likes of rumoured Real target Erling Braut Haaland and England winger Jadon Sancho might steal a fair few headline but Hakimi has been outstanding at right back.
Achraf had the record of fastest sprint in the history of Bundesliga, when he achieved 36.20 km. This record was recently overtaken by Canadian wonderkid Alphonso Davies (36.50km), but it does not take anything to Hakimi’s pace. A truly quick speedster who could rival with the fastest horses, even the Kentucky Derby winners.
On the defensive side, the Moroccan does have room for development with his tackle success rate only around the 50% mark but going forwards he’s been nothing short of spectacular with a contribution of nine goals and 10 assists in 44 matches this season. Zidane is apparently still unconvinced by Hakimi.
Verdict: Zidane will see sense. Hit.
There you have it, five players currently away from Madrid attempting to prove a point. I suspect you’ll see a few of them donning the famed white strip over the next few years.