Marcos Llorente Scout Report At Real Madrid Castilla 2018/2019 – Player Analysis

Real Madrid have been looking to replicate the success they had enjoyed under Zinedine Zidane with Santiago Solari, but after an encouraging start the Argentine coach has seen his side’s season crumble in a week.

Losing to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and La Liga has seen Madrid lose any hope of domestic silverware while a 4-1 defeat to Ajax in the Champions League last week saw them knocked out of Europe at the earliest stage since 2010.

This run of results saw the Argentine lose his job with Zinedine Zidane return to the helm in a shock move.

The darkness set over Madrid’s most decorated club has cast an unease over the city, but one bright star has provided some illumination: Marcos Llorente.

Certainly, it was Zidane who noticed his ability and promoted him to the reserve squad during his time with Real Madrid Castilla. The Spanish defensive midfielder has been a revelation for a Madrid side that boasts some of the world’s best midfielders in Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro.

Casemiro in particular has been underwhelming with his performances not up to par. He hasnt been able to replicate the world-class standards that made him the fundamental core around which Zidane revolved his team.

Llorente has challenged the Brazilian midfielder, performing well when called upon, but who is he and what does he offer Real Madrid?

Marcos Llorente’s performances for Alavés two seasons ago gave him sufficient experience and enough to warrant a place in Real Madrids squad. His role at Alavés was slightly more advanced making him central to their attacking play. Traditionally he is a technically gifted, no-nonsense defensive midfielder.

Llorentes great range of passing is complemented by his tackling ability making him a useful asset to Madrids array of choices. His off-the-ball ability is impressive, as are his awareness and positional play. Additionally, he uses his intelligence to bail himself out of pressure situations.

Marcos Llorente Positional play

Marcos Llorente’s off-the-ball movement is a feature of his play that factored into Santiago Solaris thinking this season. The young Spaniard’s positional play is a result of his excellent reading and organisational skills.

From a young age, Llorente enjoyed playing as an attacking focal point assisting attackers, but as he matured he moved further back becoming an interceptor and dynamic ball winner. His positional awareness makes him stand out as he is able to plug defensive gaps to fill in for the wing-backs or centre-backs.

Usually deployed at the base of midfield, Llorente typically likes to remain disciplined to his role and stay behind his more attack-minded teammates, providing Real Madrid with a solid fulcrum. His last La Liga outing against Rayo Vallecano in December saw him make 75 passes, and he was required to recycle possession rather than break up play as shown by their 70% possession. Against Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, Llorente played a more aggressive tackling role.

In this example, we can see Getafe launch a counter-attack with Marcelo out of position high up the pitch. Llorente recognises the imminent danger and sprints into a better defensive position. However, what makes this move even more fascinating is him recognising Ramos’ movement to fill in for Marcelo and thus putting himself into the centre-back position, all while tracking the opposition runner. He is constantly looking around and checking everyone’s positions.

The Spaniard’s fitness regime is amongst the best in La Liga, making him an extremely driven and resilient character. This spills over into his on-field performances where he becomes focused and looks to defend his area before influencing play further up the field. Llorente has the potential to become one of the best technical midfield lynchpins because of his excellent tackling and positional awareness. His incredible range of passing adds a technical quality to his game.