#360view: Jese can grasp final chance to prove he belongs to Real

Andy West 07:10 28/07/2015
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  • Reclaiming his position: Jese Rodriguez.

    Although Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas and Cristiano Ronaldo have hogged the headlines during the opening stages of Real Madrid’s pre-season preparations, perhaps the biggest plus for Rafa Benitez’s team has been provided by one of the squad’s lowest-profile players.

    Jese Rodriguez, the versatile young forward who failed to exert a meaningful impact last season, was like a man possessed in Monday’s 3-0 friendly victory over Inter Milan, scoring the opening goal and earning praise from his manager for a dynamic performance.

    The 22-year-old will now look to use this burst of excellence as a springboard for further improvement – and that is something he desperately needs to do because the forthcoming campaign is most probably his last chance to prove he can cut the mustard at the highest level.

    The last couple of years have been a rollercoaster ride for Jese, who headed into Carlo Ancelotti’s first season in charge in the summer of 2013 as a virtual unknown outside of those who followed Madrid’s reserve team, because they had seen this exciting young player rifle home 22 goals during the B team’s 2012/13 campaign.

    After being gradually introduced to the senior squad by Ancelotti during the autumn, he really ann-ounced his arrival on the main stage by netting a late winner in a thrilling game at Valencia just before Christmas.

    For the next couple of months he continued to shine, adding yet more pace and energy to an attack which already contained those qualities in abundance.

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    At that stage, approaching the end of his breakthrough season, Jese was widely regarded as one of the hottest talents in Spain, with some pundits even tipping him for a place in Vicente Del Bosque’s Spain squad for that summer’s World Cup Finals.

    Then, in March 2014, disaster struck – a seemingly innocuous incident in a Champions League clash against Schalke resulted in a cruciate ligament injury, ending his hugely promising debut season in the worst possible fashion.

    He was out of action for nine months, finally returning last December but, understandably, struggling to make a mark after missing out on an entire pre-season and attempting to pick up the team’s rhythm halfway through the campaign.

    Eventually, Jese finished the season as a forlorn and frustrated figure on the sidelines, illustrated by Ancelotti’s preference for Javier Hernandez during an injury absence for Karim Benzema.

    Now it looks like Jese is getting back to his best, and his re-emergence would be an enormous benefit for Benitez – partly for the pace at which he’s capable of playing, fitting in perfectly with the style of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, and also for his ability to play as a central striker or on either flank, providing cover and competition in all attacking areas.

    The major caveat, of course, is that Jese’s outstanding display yesterday came in a pre-season game against an Inter team which is still gelling after making several new signings – not too many conclusions can be drawn at this time of year.

    But if the form he displayed in Guangzhou can be maintained for the upcoming months, Real Madrid will effectively have a new signing and one of the brightest young talents in Spanish football will have his career back on track.

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