Real Madrid have a new dynamic duo at the right side of defence/midfield in Valverde and Trent. Xabi Alonso could use both to provide a lot of what was missed in the last year.
New manager Xabi Alonso will have a lot of adapting to do after going from Bayer Leverkusen to Real Madrid. We have previously highlighted him as one of the main figures to watch during the FIFA Club World Cup as he tries to deal with the big and tricky leap that he’s taken.
In Germany, he mainly deployed explosive and productive wing-backs such as Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo. Now he will have different profiles available, with Trent Alexander-Arnold recently joining from Liverpool and Dani Carvajal recovering from an ACL injury on the right and Fran García and Ferland Mendy on the left – the pair combined for just three assists in 45 games in LaLiga this past season.
Still, there is one highly versatile player who could also fit in at the right-back position or maybe stick to his natural spot in midfield and create a very interesting duo with Trent: Federico Valverde.
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‘Switchability’
One of the key tactical legacies of Carlo Ancelotti’s second stint at Real Madrid was the freedom of movement he allowed his players. Nobody was restricted to a fixed position on the pitch, and everyone was encouraged to move towards the ball to help circulate possession and progress towards goal.
If Xabi Alonso is to maintain at least some of that, he will have a lot of help from versatile players – Valverde might be the best one at that. He’s already filled in as right-back when Carvajal got injured and even played as a right-winger/midfielder at times. And could always just play his natural role as a centre-midfielder in the right side of a trio.
Thankfully, Trent is also highly versatile and could provide basically the inverse of what Valverde does: a right-back originally who can either play in the central corridors to leave width for the forwards or even play in the second line, as Gareth Southgate very much seemed to like.
A partnership between the two of them seems highly complementary, with Trent providing the passing range – that Real Madrid has lacked since Toni Kroos retired -, crossing and presence in the final third, while Valverde covers ground defensively and could join the attack from behind, with space to hit one of his trademark screamers from distance.
Bow and arrow(s)
Xabi Alonso has an opportunity to lean even more into transitions at Real Madrid. Bayer Leverkusen ranked first in shots from fast breaks (68) during the past two Bundesliga seasons and is set to have even better weapons to do this in Spain.
Kylian Mbappé, Vini Jr. and Rodrygo would thrive as the ‘arrows’ in this context, looking for runs in behind and gaining all sorts of advantages, while Trent could be the bow that was missing.
The Englishman would also fit in nicely in the new manager’s taste for crossing. Leverkusen were the second team with the most open play crosses attempted in the league last season (527), behind only Hoffenheim with 568. Real Madrid, on the other hand, ranked 18th in this regard in LaLiga during the same span (363).
While opponents could always prepare to try and remove the crossing out of Trent’s game, Valverde would be a weapon to counter that. Pullbacks for the Uruguayan to hit long-range shots could also prove deadly or maybe just enable the option for Trent to get crosses into the box.
Most importantly, the Valverde and Trent combination could unlock something that the Merengues haven’t seen much in their post-Toni Kroos era: long switches of play. Starting build-up on the right to attract the opposition and leave either Vini Jr. or Mbappé alone for 1v1s in the left could be one of the most reliable strategies in football.
Xabi Alonso will have to manage his way around egos, injury issues and overall lack of squad depth, but he still has a lot to work with – and certainly owns the skillset to make Real Madrid work.