REAL MADRID
Where would Bellingham play in the Real Madrid team next season if he joins?
The Englishman has been routinely linked with the club, but now it seems that the deal is more likely than not.
The transfer window never goes away, yet at a certain time of year, when the flowers start to blossom and the lambs come out to play, the beast raises its head and consumes the world. This time, it’s first big bite is Jude Bellingham’s expected move to Real Madrid, which took on a new life on Wednesday morning when it was reported that the player had almost agreed terms and that negotiations were at ‘the final stages’ with the European champions.
However, signing one of Europe’s hottest prospects is not an easy process on or off the field, and as negotations continue in offices across the continent, we took a look at how Madrid might line up with the midfielder in their ranks.
Bellingham as a number 10
Jude Bellingham has played 29 times for Borussia Dortmund this season, all of them from central midfield. He has 5 goals and 5 assists, which is more than almost any Real Madrid midfielder; Valverde (7) is the only player classed as a central player with more goals, and even he can’t quite be said to play in the same position as the Englishman.
Five goals from midfield is a decent return and especially from someone that doesn’t nominally play behind the striker, but putting Bellingham in front of the rest of the midfield should not be an option. The number 10 position is one that has not existed at Real Madrid since the departure of Mesut Özil, with various players coming in and failing to make it their own. Isco, James and Ødegaard all tried to do so but had to look elsewhere to a team that utilised a true playmaker role. Plus, any manager would want Bellingham deeper on the pitch just by looking at his heat maps:
Bellingham as the defensive pivot
Casemiro’s exit was seen as a huge blow for Real Madrid, but Madrid have coped quite well without him, using Tchouaméni, Valverde and, at times, Camavinga, as a defensive pivot. Toni Kroos has shown that, despite his passing range, he cannot defend backwards due to his lack of mobility in defensive transitions. Bellingham could work there, although his attributes make him more suited to a role further up the field where his dribbling and passing abilities could be more useful.
FBREF has the ex-Birmingham man in the 91st percentile for shot creating actions, the 92nd for progressive passes and the 99th for successful take-ons. This points to the number 8 position being where he shines the most, being able to break the lines and launch attacks from midfield, instead of starting them with a tackle of receiving them with his back to goal and trying to carve out from the edge of the box. Interestingly, FBREF says that he is a player similar to Gabri Veiga, another one of Madrid’s midfield targets.
Overall, the likely solution for Bellingham in Madrid is for him to be the ideal man to take some of the load off the two veteran midfielders as they come to the end of their long reign at Madrid. Modric and Kroos will most likely sign extensions and the new guard, as we saw when Madrid changed the midfield on their way to winning their 14th Champions League, will gradually take their place in the starting XIs. Camavinga, if he ever becomes a midfielder again, would shine next to Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouaméni will be the perfect long-term option at the base of the midfield.
