Real Madrid are again licking their wounds at the end of the season, after a second straight year without major silverware, and trying to work out how to fix a team lacking cohesion. As Jose Mourinho crests the horizon as the likely new appointment to take over from Alvaro Arbeloa, the Portuguese manager has a number of problems to solve.
Primarily, working out a system that gets the best out of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior next year. The Brazilian and Frenchman have both enjoyed individual spells of excellence over the past two years, but have failed to click together. Despite likely winning the Pichichi award for a second straight year, in Mbappe’s case, he has not impressed the Santiago Bernabeu. He will no doubt be odds on to win the award again next year, although you may need to add in some bonus requirement details if you want to use your winnings from a prospective flutter.
Vinicius’ best form arguably came alongside Karim Benzema, and the following season when Jude Bellingham was Real Madrid’s major threat in the box arriving from deep. Meanwhile Mbappe in the past has voiced his desire to play with a traditional number nine for France, and it was notable that at Paris Saint-Germain, his production was not as impressive alongside Neymar Junior and Lionel Messi as it was in other years. Even in the season where Bellingham was ‘leading the line’ to an extent, often it was Joselu Mato off the bench that helped drag and distract defences away from their other stars, allowing them more space to work with.
It begs the question, should Real Madrid bring in a number nine this summer? They do have Gonzalo Garcia Torres in their squad, who has shown flashes of strong form, but has also receded into the background at times. He has been linked with an exit, and while he might have the profile of forward Real Madrid may seek to gel with Mbappe and Vinicius, his age and standing in the hierarchy make him too easy to bench for the manager, and too easy to ignore with the ball.
Bringing in an established forward that can do some of the dirty work defensively for Real Madrid, and allow Mbappe and Vinicius to play in the areas that they want to, could be the answer. Given the problems that so far have been plagueing Real Madrid, the other alternative is effecting a fundamental shift in the game of both players.
