There has been a lot of adjustments inside the walls of the Santiago Bernabeu recently and Real Madrid are finally starting to get back on their feet.
Between the loss of not one but two managers, the transfer of players and an unusually bad start to the season, the team is finally settling into their groove and some of the younger players are showing the potential for a very promising future.
Real Madrid have won their last two games, one a 0-4 Copa del Rey victory over Melilla and the other a 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid in LaLiga and in both cases, Solari drastically adjusted the starting lineup.
One particular addition was that of Sergio Reguilon, a young, promising left-back who came through the Real Madrid youth system and proved to be an example of a promising homegrown talent who can make a difference on the pitch.
Who is Sergio Reguilon?
Reguilon first joined the Real Madrid youth system back in 2005 and has worked his way through the ranks ever since, always moving up after the end of each season.
As a player, Reguilon has the ability to play in multiple positions and was keen on developing his versatility from such a young age and this personal player development ended up helping his performance with the first team on his debut.
In his preferred position as a left-back, the Spaniard has a beautiful technique on the ball and maintains the ability to use both strong defensive and offensive techniques to help his team.
Seasons with UD Logrones and Real Madrid Castilla
Throughout his time in the youth system, Reguilon displayed most of his talent during his time with Real Madrid Castilla and also at UD Logrones, where he spent a one-year loan spell back in 2016.
During his time with UD Logrones, Reguilon was able to develop his attacking techniques as a left winger rather than focus on his usual defensive duties.
While playing for an average amount of 90 minutes per game, he appeared for the team a total of 43 times and averaged 1.42 shots on target per game with eight of them finding the back of the net.
His positioning on the pitch throughout the game was usually tight along the left wing played a vital role in his attacking style and helped him become more invested in the team.
He also averaged 23 passes per game, boasting a 66 per cent completion rate, and successfully completed more than half of his dribbles.
When he returned back to the Castilla team in 2017, Reguilon began shifting his position back towards the defensive line but still managed to remain a prominent player going forward.
Back in Madrid, Reguilon also came back with better ball control and averaged 48 passes per game, 79 per cent of them being completed, all while improving his interception rate and having better possession of the ball.
Between the beginnings of his youth career, then growing his attacking attributes in La Rioja and finally revisiting his defensive techniques with Real Madrid’s B team, Reguilon has proved that his homegrown talent could be extremely viable in the future.
Future with the first team
Of course, Reguilon is not the first choice left-back for Real Madrid with players Marcelo and Nacho on the squad but with the number of injuries across the back line, he has the opportunity to prove himself as a stellar exemplar of homegrown youth talent.
After being named to the starting XI against Valladolid, it was thought that Reguilon would have been a player to exploit at the back but in fact, he proved to be a challenging opponent.
Like the heatmaps from his season in the youth leagues, he continued to play high along the left wing and looked as hungry for a goal as a healthy Marcelo would.
In particular, he routinely crossed beautiful balls into the box and they made contact with players like Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, both of which could have scored the game’s opening goal.
His debut performance in LaLiga proved that, while Reguilon is still only 21 years of age, he has the ability to fight for a spot in the starting XI alongside the likes of Sergio Ramos.
Under the reign of Solari, Sergio Reguilon has the opportunity to take his career to the next level and display to the world that Madrid can develop talented homegrown talent right in their backyard.
