Real Madrid drew their fourth consecutive game this weekend against Eibar, and the lack of a defensive midfielder has been blamed for their drop in form. Having lost Casemiro for a considerable period of time - due to a broken fibula - Zidane has had to look elsewhere to find an adequate replacement for the Brazilian.
Marcos Llorente plays in the same position as the injured Brazilian and has been considered as a possible replacement, however, contractual restrictions will prevent the midfielder from returning to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Trending
Also Read: Reports - Manchester United hold fresh talks with Gareth Bale's agent
The emergency of the situation was addressed by Zidane before Madrid’s Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund last Wednesday. Zidane insisted at the time that it was important for the youngster’s football education to get more matches and that was the primary reason for letting the player leave on a season-long loan.
However, four consecutive draws for the Frenchman’s team means Real will have to devise a strategy to bring the youngster in the January window itself. That though seems an unlikely possibility due to the nature of the contract signed between the clubs.
Additionally, the problem facing the Madrid club is that they won’t be able to register Llorente due to the FIFA transfer ban imposed on the club.
Madrid’s youth product
Llorente, a product of the youth system at Madrid, has impressed for his new side Alaves having started 5 games in the season already. Speaking to Spanish media outlet, Marca, the youngster stated, “My aim is to return in a year's time”.
The youngster is well aware of the clause in his contract which prevents him from returning to the parent club as was clarified by Alaves Sporting Director, Sergio Fernandez.
The same stance was repeated by Alvares president, Fernandez de Trocóniz, who also clarified the current situation: “Marcos Llorente is on loan for the season. There is no return clause”
Current Madrid midfield
Madrid, played Eibar at the weekend with midfielders Isco, Kovacic, and Kroos in a midfield trio behind the front three of Bale, Ronaldo, and Benzema. However, they were unable to prevent Eibar from taking the lead.
The current midfield trio are all high-quality players when it comes to creating goalscoring opportunities, but none of them are known for their defensive abilities and can’t adequately fill the void left by Casemiro’s absence.
Also Read: Twitter trolls Real Madrid and Ronaldo after being held 1-1 by lowly Eibar at home
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane quashed talks of a crisis on his hands and said, “We are not in crisis, we're only in October. What we need to do is improve, we can't lose our minds over this,” as was reported by BBC Football.
Madrid take on Real Betis on 15th October after the international break and will hope to break their streak of draws.
