5 forgotten players angling for summer moves

#2 Fabio Coentrao

Endowed with great pace and consistency, Portuguese international Coentrao first made an impact in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where he put together a string of solid shifts at the back. It was thought at the time he was signed that the left-back was brought in by Real Madrid to provide back-up for, and potentially supersede, Marcelo but the hype was short lived and Fabio has since played a small fraction of games compared to his Brazillian counterpart.

Yes, he still managed 17 appearances last season. But it seems increasingly evident Coentrao is destined to play second fiddle to Marcelo for the remainder of his days and, following a thigh injury during pre-season, he is showing no signs of breaking through as a vital first team member.

Furthermore, Real Madrid are a club not averse to playing Chinese whispers in the transfer market and, having recently become tangled in talks surrounding the Swiss full-back Ricardo Rodriguez, it looks as if even Fabio’s position as the alternative choice at left-back could shortly come under fire. Rodriguez, 22, shows far greater potential development in his career and would bolster Los Blancos’s youth policy as well as adding a new attacking dimension to the position.

Coentrão has not been short of suitors himself, with Manchester United’s loan deal falling through last summer, while Jose Mourinho has also been keen on a move for his fellow Portuguese. Some of you may question my decision to include this dynamic full-back on a list of ‘forgotten’ players but the fact is, when at a club like Real Madrid, it can be easy to slip into the shadows of heavyweights Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos for example.

This means even a relatively humble offer would tempt the giants to sell, with it no difficult task to lure in a replacement. Couple that with the fact Coentrão failed to register ten appearances in La Liga last term and we can see that he is not viewed as the fresh, exciting youngster he once was.

So Fabio will no doubt face an imminent dilemma. Whether Ricardo Rodriguez signs or not, the full-back from Vila do Conde has to decide whether to stay and fight for his spot, although the brutality of Real Madrid as a club indicates he wouldn’t stand a fighting chance, or he needs to search for a new challenge.