Can Brahim Diaz help Real Madrid salvage something from the season?

What’s the buzz about? We take a look at the scouting report of the youngster.

BIO

Name: Brahim Diaz

Age: 19

Nationality: Spanish

Height: 170 cm

Best positions: Central attacking midfield, right-wing, left-wing

Preferred foot: Right with a strong weak foot.

About Diaz

The Malaga-born midfielder has been hitting the newspapers for all the right reasons in recent times. He first burst onto the scene at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 where he was one of the best players alongside fellow countryman Abel Ruiz and fellow Manchester City academy graduate Phil Foden.

After spending three years with Malaga from 11-14 years of age, Diaz made a switch to the blue side of Manchester. Opportunities at a talent-rich City were limited.

In a world where superstars are starting their career at the age of 18-19, Diaz could not afford to spend more time on the bench and it’s a oddity that he will likely see more game time with Madrid than he will have done at City.

STRENGTHS

Dribbling: It’s his exquisite dribbling which earned Diaz the nickname of ‘Spanish Messi’. Whether it’s dropping his shoulders, a close control of the ball or swivelling of the hips to hoodwink opponents – the Spaniard has got it all.

The midfielder’s ability to skip past defenders using the simplest of movements but at great perfection makes him a threat in a limited or an open space. He might not be the fastest of players, but his dribbling ability more than makes up for it.

Link-up play: A desired trait in any team that plays in La Liga, Diaz boasts of impressive linking up abilities. He had formed a lethal partnership with Foden at City’s youth groups and Ruiz in the Spain squad.

His versatility allows him to play on either wings and in the centre of midfield in an advanced position. This and the ability to play one-twos with any player and be comfortable at that makes the teenager a desirable player in any team which employs a possession-based approach where tons of passes are made in the final third before striking.

WEAKNESSES

Physicality: Some of the greatest players of the modern era stand below 5’8” and Diaz boasts of similar technical abilities which should not make lack of physicality an issue for him.

But Diaz is prone to going down on the simplest of tackles and his apparent fragile frame has been subject to quite a few unfriendly tackles in the past. At this point, the lack of physicality does become a major concern, something the 19-year-old should probably work on.

Decision making: He often fails to find his team-mates on the safe wavelength as him and ends up overestimating his and his teammates’ abilities.

Sometimes it’s about overdoing a dribble and sometimes it’s overhitting a pass by overestimating his teammates pace – the crux stays that his decision making needs to be polished.

DIAZ AT MADRID

It will be interesting to see what role coach Santiago Solari has in mind for the youngster. It is unclear whether he will be plugged into the beaten down starting line-up right away or given time to settle in.

But it’s not particularly hard to decipher what he will be adding to the team. With Isco’s minutes being cut off and Marco Asensio looking out of sorts, Madrid never had the kind of dribbler who can turn things around with just one moment of individual magic.

With Luka Modric failing to provide much creativity in recent times, Diaz can be a great addition who can provide those incisive passes to a lurking Karim Benzema.

VERDICT

This is undoubtedly a brilliant transfer for Madrid and at a fair price too. But the fact that they are turning to an 18-year-old Vinicius Junior and a 19-year-old Diaz to save their season is something they should feel ashamed about, upon reflection.

The senior players must step up their game and provide a positive atmosphere to help these players develop. This also all but confirms that Isco will be on his way out in the summer transfer window.