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What's the rumor?
AS reports state that Real Madrid is not looking to bring in a striker such as Robert Lewandoski, Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe, or Harry Kane. Borja Mayoral, the 21-year old Spaniard, is set to be the second choice center-forward behind Karim Benzema this season. The young lad has impressed the club's new boss Julen Lopetegui in the pre-season training.
The club's previous manager, Zinedine Zidane, had a lot of trust in the youngster and has also said "He's a striker who scores every time he has a shot" about Mayoral. He was the only backup striker in the side last year and it seems that this season might be the Mayoral's time to step up and deliver the goods for Los Blancos.
AS also revealed that attacking midfielder Eden Hazard's move to Real Madrid has been ruled out as the club are not willing to break the bank or make signings for the sake of it. The club's attitude towards signing a number nine is also on similar lines.
In case you didn't know?
Real Madrid suffered a huge blow at the start of the summer as their superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo left the club for Juventus. After his departure, the club has tried signing a big name before the transfer deadline but things seem to be progressing nowhere now.
There have been a lot of apprehensions after Ronaldo leaving the club and the need to fill the void created by the Portuguese icon's exit. The club was linked to many top goalscorers across Europe but none of them seem to be heading in the club's direction.
Also, Real Madrid would not pay what is in today's market considered a 'run-of-the-mill' fee of 40 to 50 million euros for a player a class below the likes of Edinson Cavani, Robert Lewandowski, and Harry Kane. So, the approach that they'll be following is similar to the one that they are following in case of mid-fielder - look inside and use the existing talent.
The heart of the matter
The iconic club and their new manager believe that Borja Mayoral is ready to step up the challenge and they expect him to contribute somewhere in between 15 and 20 goals this season. Real Madrid management does not want to stop the 21-year-old's progress by signing a top forward.
Mayoral first joined Real Madrid's youth set up in 2007 and has risen in ranks ever since. Also, there were reports in Spanish Media that Borja Mayoral is the best striker that the Real Madrid academy members feel they have produced over the last few years.
Many teams have come asking for Mayoral’s services, such as Real Betis and Alavés and the club has refused all of them. The youngster is all set to get more chances in what might be a career-defining season for him.
Borja Moyaral's career so far
Borja Mayoral joined Real Madrid's youth setup as a ten-year-old in 2007. He scored 102 goals in just 77 games for the Real Madrid Under-18s and Under-16s. He was also the top-scorer in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship with Spain.
As a result of the impressive performance with the youth sides, he got his first-team debut for Real Madrid on 31st October 2015. For the 2016-17 season, he was sent on a loan to Bundesliga side VFL Wolfsburg. He made 19 appearances(Starting 3 times, Substituted 16 times) for the Wolves. Even though he scored just two goals for the side, he definitely gained a lot of experience in Germany.
Last year, on his return to the Real Madrid side on 17 September 2017, he scored his first senior goal against Real Sociedad. In the UEFA Champions League, he made four appearances for the Champions and scored one goal for Los Blancos.
In total, he was given 927 minutes of first-team action, and he managed to find the back of the net six times. With more frequent game time, he can definitely increase the haul. By giving him more chances, Julen Lopetegui wants to unleash the young lad's potential on the biggest stage.
Final Say
After getting a few opportunities last season, Mayoral will be excited about the number of opportunities that he will be getting this season. Not signing another center-forward will give a massive boost to the youngster's confidence.
More the number of opportunities would be mean that Mayoral will have a lot of responsibility on his young shoulders. He should believe in his abilities and should be hard on himself if he fails once in a while because only through those experiences he will become a better player.
