The Gunners have plans to lure one of La Liga’s hottest prospects, Marcos Llorente, to the Emirates come next summer following a string of impressive displays from the Real Madrid youngster in the current campaign.
The 21-year-old midfielder is with newly promoted side Deportivo Alaves on a season-long loan and this has turned into a superb outing in all his 6 league fixtures – with the highlight being his role in the shocking and surprise victory over Barcelona weeks ago.
At the start of the new season, Real Madrid manager Zidane was keen to allow Llorente remain in Bernabeu to provide competition and cover for the established starting XI midfielders.
However, it was later agreed that a loan move away would help further his development. And his fine form has attracted Arsenal who wants him on a permanent basis next summer.
Football Background/C.V
The Madrid-born Marcos Llorente joined the club as a 13-year-old, making it through all the age-grade ranks before linking up with Real Madrid B team. His promotion to the reserve team came off the back of the impression he had on Zidane while with the Juvenil squad.
He racked up 62 appearances for the reserves before his stint with the first team last term. Since making his senior team debut in a La Liga game against Levante October last year, the midfield prodigy has only appeared once for Madrid.
Style of Play
Llorente loves to combine defensive duties with his natural central midfield role, and he is a great tackler. One always keen to break up counter-attacks and eat up ground and opponent while launching an attack.
His ability to play long balls and make key passes also makes him quite a handful to contain. With 2 man-of-the-match awards this season – both coming from a defensive midfield role, it is clear to see why Arsenal are keen to add him to their midfield despite the current quality they boast of in their ranks.
Marcos’ stats thus far this season rivals any defensive midfielder in any of Europe’s top leagues. In 560 minutes, the Spain youth international has created 6 chances and made 1 assist.
With an average pass length of 19 meters and 86% accuracy, Llorente has made 252 passes. On the defensive, he has won 59% average duels and averaged 3 defensive actions.
Where will he fit in
Llorente’s versatility means he would do fine in central midfield and defensive midfield positions. Since it’s impossible to have 2 of him right in front of Arsenal’s backline, pairing him with either Cazorla or Xhaka/Coquelin will be a way to go.
Cazorla’s performance level won’t be able to serve Arsenal for the long-term, and Llorente will be a perfect replacement for his fellow Spaniard. Both share same abilities when it comes to distributing long and short range passes.
His defensive abilities will also mean he can be saddled with box-to-box midfield responsibilities. The options are inexhaustible, and Arsenal scouts know exactly why they marked him for a possible transfer at the end of the season. From the look of things, the Gunners won’t go wrong with this one if they do manage to land him.