Dani Carvajal‘s 2020/21 season was disrupted by injuries, forcing Zinedine Zidane into utilising Lucas Vazquez as a right-back, but with the winger excelling in the role he is likely to emerge as a rival for Carvajal next season.
Having overcome Alvaro Arbeloa, Danilo, Achraf Hakimi and Alvaro Odriozola to claim dominance at the right-back position, there is a sense that Carvajal‘s biggest opponent will now be his own health.
In Lucas, Carlo Ancelotti has a reliable deputy who works hard for the team and has just signed a contract extension to extend his stay at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Having nearly left the club in the summer if 2020, it is Lucas‘ performances at right-back that has persuaded Los Blancos to retain him.
The switch from winger to wing-back is becoming all the more common, especially when a player is getting older and loses the ability to go past a defender in athletic terms.
We’ve seen it with Jesus Navas, Jordi Alba and Jose Luis Gaya, whilst there was the less successful examples of Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young at Manchester United, despite neither being able to defend effectively.
Lucas‘ excellence has made the future of Odriozola more complicated, and the former Real Sociedad defender could actually leave the club.
There are clubs who would be willing to purchase him, and it’s worth remembering he won the Champions League during his loan spell with Bayern Munich, albeit he was a peripheral figure.
