Unlike their big rivals, Real Madrid aren’t exactly known for excellent youth development, or being able to hang on to the talented ones. Dani Carvajal is one of those that got away, enjoying a fantastic season playing for Bayer Leverkusen, which could earn him a ticket back to club he grew up in.
Carvajal, 21, is one of those right backs that does cause you a few heart attacks on defense due to his attacking nature which sometimes comes at the expense of his defending. He is a good defender when he’s focused on being one, and possesses quite a good aerial game even though he’s only 1.73 meters tall. He delivered 7 assists for Leverkusen this season, in what might be his only campaign in the Bundesliga.
Because Real Madrid didn’t want the Barcelona thing to happen – releasing a youth player only to see him develop into a star and pay an enormous amount of money to get him back, just like it happened with Cesc Fabregas and Jordi Alba over the last couple of years. Carvajal has a €6.5 million bring-back clause if Real Madrid make an offer for him, and signs from Spain suggest it’s becoming more and more likely that he will
Real Madrid were very disappointing with Alvaro Arbeloa this season. He’s always been the easiest player to criticize on the team, but this season his mistakes and tendency to make up for his shortcomings and positioning mistakes by being over-aggressive have cost the team more than once. Sergio Ramos does better as the right back, but he doesn’t like playing out wide anymore, which doesn’t leave Real Madrid a lot of options.
Carvajal will obviously love to find himself back on the team he grew up in, growing up in Madrid suburb and playing for the youth team since the age of 11. He made 68 appearances for the B team before signing a five-year contract with Leverkusen after being purchased for €5 million.
One interesting aspect of the Carvajal deal is that his buy-back fee rises with each passing year. This season it’s the price mentioned above. In one more season it’ll be €7 million, in two more it’ll be €8.5. After that the privilege of bringing him back for a reduced fee disappears, which might make Real Madrid act a bit quicker this time, even if he’s not a Galactico.