Real Madrid News: Brazilian legend believes the arrival of new faces will not hamper the progress of Vinicius Junior

What's the story?

Former Barcelona star and Brazilian legend Rivaldo feels Vinicius Junior will have a big role to play in the upcoming season for Real Madrid, despite the inclusion of a host of new players to the squad.

According to the 47-year-old, the teenager can seamlessly fit into the system alongside Eden Hazard.

In case you didn't know...

After what went down as a significantly underwhelming season, the Real Madrid hierarchy set out to revamp the squad by roping in new faces.

They have arguably been the most successful club in the transfer window so far, having already snapped up the services of Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao, Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy.

Due to the above recruitments, many expect young Vinicius Junior, who netted four goals in 31 appearances last term, to be pushed down the pecking order.

The heart of the matter

However, Rivaldo reckons the summer signings will not dampen the 18-year-old's progress at the Spanish capital.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Betfair, he remarked:

“Real Madrid are looking for ways to accommodate star players. Despite Vinicius Junior's recent comments, I believe he can easily play by Eden Hazard's side at Real Madrid and they can even form a nice offensive partnership. Playing alongside such a quality player as Hazard can only let him more relaxed as he will benefit from it as well as Real Madrid.

He added that Vinicius must stay focused, and prove his worth to Zidane - who is an excellent head coach.

“Vinicius just needs to focus on his work and try to convince [Zinedine] Zidane to make him first choice. The club are making many changes to the squad, so they need to adapt to each other, and Zidane's work will be crucial - he is an excellent manager."

Heaping further praise on the Real Madrid boss, he concluded:

“As a player, Zidane was known by being a false lazy on the pitch - very clever - and he certainly has a plan to put these two players together, so they combine and adapt to each other on the pitch. Real Madrid should be much stronger next season.”

What's next?

While Real Madrid continue to excel in their quest to create a world-class squad ahead of the next season, their team is set to begin their pre-season training. Their next assignment is against Bayern Munich in the International Champions Cup, on 21 July.