#6 Philipp Lienhart
The 20-year old started out at Austrian club Rapid Wien before joining Real Madrid on loan in 2014 and the loan deal was made permanent in 2015. The centre-back is tall, strong and is known for his aerial prowess. He is a constant fixture in the B team and has made 24 appearances so far.
Lienhart is a full under-21 international for Austria and made his Real Madrid debut in December 2015, when he came on for James Rodriguez in a Copa del Rey match against Cadiz. The Austrian is rated by the club and he could become a valuable first team squad member in the coming seasons.
#5 Sergio Ismael Díaz Velázquez
One of the highly rated players in Paraguay, Sergio Diaz took his first steps at Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno where he had a successful spell before Real Madrid secured his services at the start of this season. A pacy striker with good finishing ability, Diaz is regarded as the next Sergio Aguero due to his relatively short height and style of play.
Also Read: Sergio Diaz has to show why Real Madrid signed him says Salvador Cabanas
Although he has a long way to go to match the Manchester City striker, the 19-year old definitely has time to nurture his skill at the reserve team before pushing on to the first team which has strikers such as Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata.
Further, he prefers to play as a second striker and the first team currently operates in a 4-3-3 and also there are a number of players for the second striker or No. 10 role as well, thereby diminishing his current chances.
#4 Federico Santiago Valverde Dipetta
An acquisition made by the club last summer, Valverde is a defensive midfielder with an eye for goal and he has scored three goals so far this season. The dynamism in his game sees him constantly involved in proceedings and at 18 years of age, he has time to learn.
Also Read: 5 Real Madrid youth players who should play for the first team
The midfielder started his career at Penarol in Uruguay and is already an under-20 international. His manager at Real Madrid Castilla, Santiago Solari told recently that, “I'm very happy with him. He has adapted very well to the club and country. Valverde always generates a lot of football in midfield.”
#3 Enzo Fernandez
The eldest son of Zinedine Zidane, Enzo is the captain of Real Madrid Castilla. After starting out at Juventus, Enzo joined Real Madrid in 2004 and has been at the club ever since. The midfield playmaker has some similarities with his illustrious father in terms of playing position, as well as his superb ball control and a great technique.
He made his first team debut last November when he came on as a substitute against Cultural Leonesa for Isco and scored on debut from the edge of the penalty area. While he has been constantly training with the first team, the overloaded attacking positions prevent Enzo from assessing his ability by playing in the main team and at 22 years of age, time could be running out for him.
#2 Aleix Febas Perez
One of the two supreme talents as per the higher-ups in the reserve team, Febas is also the 4th captain of the side. The Catalan boy joined Real Madrid in 2009 and swiftly rose through the ranks before becoming a regular for the Castilla side since 2015.
The talented midfielder has a fantastic vision and superb execution making him one to look out for. At 21 years of age, the coming season will prove to define as to whether he will step up or make a career elsewhere.
#1 Achraf Hakimi
One of the highly rated stars to come through La Fabrica, Hakimi joined Real Madrid in 2006 and is an attack-minded full-back by trade. Hakimi is also the first Moroccan international to play for Los Blancos as he already made his country debut at the age of 17 against Canada last year and was also named “Most Promising Moroccan Player of 2016.”
The 18-year old is a long-term solution for the first-team problems at full-back positions with neither Danilo nor Fabio Coentrao being able deputies to another La Fabrica graduate, Dani Carvajal, and Marcelo respectively.
His strengths lie in supporting the attack well and has an eye for goal, while he is reliable in defence making him a valuable asset to the club. His talent has already been noticed by Zidane who named him on the substitute bench for the Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg against Celta Vigo and gave him playing time in pre-season against Paris-Saint Germain.
It is only a matter of time before Hakimi gets a chance in the first team.
