Opinion: Marco Asensio is the future of Real Madrid

A belter of a left foot, goals from all around the pitch, and a touch of elegance are only some of the attributes that make you fall in love with Marco Asensio, the number 20 of arguably the biggest club in the world, Real Madrid.

Believe it or not, a talent and prospect such as Asensio was bought to the Santiago Bernabeu for a measly €3.9 million from Mallorca. However, he almost never made it as a footballer because of growth deficiencies in his knees during his youth which caused him problems until he was a teenager.

Now the Spaniard is a key figure in the Real Madrid line-up predominantly featuring in and around the left wing/forward position left vacant by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 22 year old has come a long way from scoring that wonder goal in his senior debut for Real Madrid against Sevilla in the Super Cup win. Today, he is as important to manager Julen Lopetegui as any other Real Madrid player.

Features predominantly in Lopetegui's plans

The skillful playmaker will not be one who will score 40 goals a season as Ronaldo did, but will create a lot as compared to the Portuguese sensation, as evidenced by his stats this season. 3 assists in 4 league appearances which included 2 penalties won for his team and an average of 1.3 key passes every game show his involvement up the pitch.

Nevertheless, he has some serious competition for a regular spot in the starting line-up for Los Blancos as they have the golden boy Isco in their ranks as well.

Isco is the key creator on the pitch for the Spanish giants and has been doing just that since his arrival from Malaga. But with Lopetegui favouring a 4-3-3 formation and Asensio fitting into the system much better than Isco, the creative forward will certainly get the nod as a regular within the manager’s tenure for sure.

Sweet left foot

Asensio is contracted to Real Madrid till 2023 and if any club is interested in pricing the prodigy away from the Bernabeu, they will have to pay some serious cash.

It has been reported that Asensio was handed the vacant number 7 by club president Perez, but refused the jersey which would bring a lot of pressure to fill the boots of Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, there is no doubting his talent, and even if he never reaches the extraordinary level of Messi and Ronaldo, he will surely in a couple of years be one of the best footballers in the world.