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With nearly one-third of the European season now completed as we get into the month of November, we can assess how various teams, managers and players are faring this season.
One club to look at in particular is Real Madrid. Despite sitting second in the LaLiga table behind leaders Barcelona on goal difference, there is a sense of unrest that has pervaded the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu air.
The €350 million spending spree in the summer has garnered little reward, with new signings Luka Jovic, Eden Hazard, Ferland Mendy and Eder Militao not quite firing as the Los Blancos would have expected them to do by now.
Real have also been uninspiring in the Champions League, traditionally their bread and butter, with a 3-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain, a 2-2 home draw to with Club Brugge and an unconvincing 1-0 win at Galatasaray being their results so far.
Part of their problems can be put down to the fact that the hierarchy made a mistake in re-hiring someone like Zinedine Zidane, who has proven quite raw, despite the success he enjoyed in his previous spell in charge of the club. Another more pressing issue, perhaps, has been the midfield.
Zidane has insisted on playing the same three midfielders which won Madrid three Champions League titles despite them declining quite sharply since that time. While Casemiro still does an exemplary job, an immobile Toni Kroos and an ageing Luka Modric have not helped matters.
Kroos is still only 29 and may yet have a role to play in this side, but for Modric, at the age of 34, it seems apt to ask if he is indeed the same player that Real Madrid signed from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012. The 2018 World Cup finalist has been a magnificent servant to the club, but it may well be time for him to make way for the next crop of talent.
To that end, here are the 3 players who we think should be on Real Madrid's shortlist to replace Luka Modric.
*For this list, we are looking at players who can provide longevity in the middle of the park, so all our candidates are aged 25 or younger.
Honourable Mentions:
Joan Jordan (25, Sevilla)
Lucas Vera (22, Lanus)
Also check out: UCL schedule Champions League table La liga table 2019-20
#3 Teun Koopmeiners
Age: 21
Club: AZ Alkmaar
Market Value: €7.50 million
First on our list is a relatively unknown name to many football fans, both in Europe and around the world. Teun Koopmeiners is a Dutch midfielder currently plying his trade for AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Koopmeiners started his career at youth level at local side Vitesse '22 before joining the AZ academy aged 11. He progressed swiftly through the ranks of the club's age group squads, before representing their reserve side, Jong AZ, in the third tier of Dutch football, helping them gain promotion to the second division.
He made his senior club debut at the age of 19, as a substitute in a 4-0 loss to Feyenoord. Still only 21, he has already made 67 appearances for his boyhood club.
Koopmeiners is a player with the skill set of a midfielder, but who also has the game awareness and adaptability to fill in at centre back. Although he was used as a defensive midfielder earlier, he currently plays in a slightly more advanced role, with less defensive responsibility, a la Luka Modric at Tottenham Hotspur.
As we can see from the above radar comparison of Modric and Koopmeiners' numbers, the two players' profile is quite similar in terms of their number of shots, dribbles, fouls won and key passes per game, so logic dictates that Koopmeiners would more or less be at home in the Madrid midfield.
What stands out, however, is Koopmeiners' passing range, which gives Modric's some serious competition.
He completes 6.5 long balls per game, compared to Modric's 4.8, and averages 72.6 short passes to the Croatian's 47.
However, Koopmeiners' long ball completion rate is only 59.2%, which provides an idea of how many he actually attempts given the number he completes. His short passing game, however, is as good as, if not better, than Modric's, with a 92.6% accuracy (Modric completes 90%).
If Madrid were to take a gamble on Koopmeiners, it could well pay off, as his ability to win the ball back at a similar rate to Modric and his superior variety of passing could help them exploit the abilities of Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. on the flanks for years to come.
#2 Matteo Guendouzi
Age: 20
Club: Arsenal
Market Value: €45 million
Matteo Guendouzi was born in Poissy, France, and joined Paris Saint-Germain's academy in 2005, staying there for nine years before switching over to Lorient. He made his first-team debut in October 2016, after representing the club's B team. The club were relegated that season, and Guendouzi played 21 times for them in Ligue 2, as they finished 7th.
In the summer of 2018, Guendouzi signed for Arsenal, brought to the club by new manager Unai Emery, whose eye he had caught while at Lorient. He has already made 43 appearances for the North London club and has firmly established himself as a fan-favourite.
If Koopmeiners was someone who could match the passing range and ability of Modric, then Guendouzi is someone who exceeds the Croatian's work rate and combativeness in midfield.
The Frenchman makes 1.8 tackles and 1.4 interceptions a game, a total of 3.2 ball recoveries, exactly the same as Modric, who makes 1.5 tackles and 1.7 interceptions; perhaps a function of him being able to read the game better due to his superior experience.
Guendouzi also completes 3.8 long balls per game, and 52.2 short passes at an overall completion rate of 89%, so he is no slouch when it comes to distribution, and also manages to draw 2 fouls per game, as opposed to Modric's 1.3.
Another important point is that this number would be likely to go up if Guendouzi made the move to Madrid, due to the difference in physicality between the English Premier League and LaLiga, and could enable them to take advantage by using the dangerous set-piece delivery of Toni Kroos.
It would take quite a heavy investment to prise Guendouzi away from London, but if Arsenal fail to qualify for the Champions League this season as well, don't bet against it happening.
#1 Fabian Ruiz
Age: 23
Club: Napoli
Market Value: €60 million
The last player on this list is perhaps the one we think Real Madrid should make their number one priority next summer; Napoli's Fabian Ruiz. The Spain international was already linked with a host of top clubs this past summer, including Manchester City and Madrid's biggest rivals FC Barcelona, and rumours have recently arisen about Madrid being in talks for him.
Ruiz started his youth career at EF La Union de Los Palacios, his local side, before joining the Real Betis youth academy in 2004, and went on to represent the B team for two years between 2014 and 2016, while occasionally turning out for the senior side, making his debut in 2015.
In the 2017/18 season, Ruiz became a regular starter for Betis under Quique Setien as the Seville-based side secured qualification for the Europa League. He would not represent them in that competition, however, as he moved to Napoli in 2018 after they triggered his then €30 million release clause.
Besides the obvious advantage of Ruiz being classified as a homegrown player, there is the other, more important aspect of him being one of the most similar players to Modric, anywhere in Europe, as well as him being able to do it for a top club in a top division.
He completes nearly 64 passes per game, at a completion rate of 90.4%, as well as providing 1.6 key passes (passes leading to shots) per game. He has a fairly clean approach to his game, committing less than one foul a game and completing 1.5 tackles at a 70% success rate, making 1.5 interceptions to boot.
These numbers are likely to improve with experience, and his already impressive 1.6 completed dribbles per game at a 76% success rate should also show an uptick.
Ruiz also provides a goal-scoring threat from distance. His 2.6 shots per game are double of what Modric averages, and 85.7% of them are taken from outside the 18-yard box.
In addition, he manages to land 61.5% of them on target, which could also cause problems for goalkeepers, creating spillages for forwards to clean up.
Madrid would have to pay through the nose to get Ruiz, but if they do, they can be rest assured that they will in no way, shape or form, miss Luka Modric for the next 10 years at least.
