Mbappe's Move to Real Madrid
Now that Kylian Mbappe no longer has the European Championship title to worry about, he can look ahead to a new club career at Real Madrid. After some well deserved rest, it will be time for the Frenchman to be unveiled at the Santiago Bernabeu, and the pressure will be on Los Blancos’ new Galactico from the minute he steps out onto the pitch in Real’s all white kit. Mbappe remains a most lethal marksman, with an astonishing return of 288 goals and 126 assists in 373 games, per transfermarkt. That Florentino Perez has managed to engineer a free transfer for a player of his standing is a masterstroke. However, it’s worth sounding a small note of caution. Mbappe’s performance against Spain on Tuesday night, brought to light, again, passages of play that are likely to make the Frenchman’s life far from plain sailing in La Liga. His preferred position is playing on the left side of the attack, and coming inside on his right foot. At present, Vini Jr. does a more than acceptable job in that area of the pitch for the Spanish giants. Even if Carlo Ancelotti were able to accommodate the pair down the same side of the pitch – which is debatable – Mbappe showed when having Theo Hernandez overlapping him, that taking up positions further in didn’t suit him well. There’s a cogent argument that neither the Frenchman or the Brazilian would be as effective on the right side either, though it’s entirely possible Ancelotti sees Mbappe as playing more centrally. That would mean a switch from the Italian coach’s preferred 4-3-1-2 formation, and the benching of a regular starter in any event. Were Mbappe to struggle as he has of late in that left-sided role, it will be interesting to see how it affects Madrid as a group.
Sada kada Kylian Mbappe više nema naslov evropskog prvaka o kojem brinuti, može pogledati unaprijed prema novoj klupskoj karijeri u Real Madridu. Nakon zasluženog odmora, bit će vrijeme da se Francuz predstavi na Santiago Bernabeuu, i pritisak će biti na novom Galactico Los Blancosa od trenutka kada izađe na teren u Realovom potpuno bijelom dresu. Mbappe ostaje najsmrtonosniji strijelac, sa zadivljujućim učinkom od 288 golova i 126 asistencija u 373 utakmice, prema transfermarkt. To što je Florentino Perez uspio organizirati besplatni transfer za igrača njegovog kalibra je majstorski potez. Međutim, valja zvučati mali alarm. Mbappeova izvedba protiv Španije u utorak navečer, još jednom je istakla dijelove igre koji će vjerovatno učiniti život ovog Francuza daleko od lakog u La Ligi. Njegova preferirana pozicija je igranje na lijevoj strani napada, i ulazak unutar desnog stopala. Trenutno, Vini Jr. obavlja više nego prihvatljiv posao na tom dijelu terena za španske gigante. Čak i ako bi Carlo Ancelotti mogao smjestiti par na istu stranu terena – što je diskutabilno – Mbappe je pokazao kada je imao Thea Hernandeza koji ga prelazi, da mu zauzimanje položaja dalje unutra ne odgovara. Postoji uvjerljiv argument da ni Francuz ni Brazilac ne bi bili jednako efikasni ni na desnoj strani, mada je sasvim moguće da Ancelotti vidi Mbappea kao igrača koji igra centralnije. To bi značilo prebacivanje iz preferirane formacije talijanskog trenera, 4-3-1-2, i izostavljanje redovnog startera u svakom slučaju. Ukoliko bi Mbappe imao problema kao što ih je imao nedavno na lijevoj strani, bit će zanimljivo vidjeti kako će to utjecati na Madrid kao grupu.
