Isco: Projecting Real Madrid Youngster's Career at the Bernabeu

It's only just getting started, but Isco's spell in the white of Real Madrid has began in an impressive manner.

He's scored four goals in his first seven La Liga games, set up one more and also scored on his Champions League debut for the club against Galatasaray.

Marca are already suggesting he's a contender to be the best No. 10 in the club's history, comparing his start to life at the Bernabeu favourably with that of Mesut Ozil, Kaka, Wesley Sneijder and even Zinedine Zidane before him.

Carlo Ancelotti has even spoke out about the comparisons with his assistant manager, Zidane, via BBC:

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I asked Zinedine is he agrees and he said 'no, not yet. But he could be very close in the future.' He is very similar in terms of ability and mentality. For Isco to be compared with Zidane is not bad after the few games he's played.

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Being compared to the French midfielder is no small feat, and if the 21-year-old does go onto live up to his potential, there's no reason he won't become one of the best players in the world.

Behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo there's a queue of younger players waiting to step into their boots.

From Neymar to Marco Reus and Gareth Bale to Mario Goetze, Isco finds himself among good company bustling at the front of that queue, and he's well placed at Real Madrid to come out on top.

Already at Malaga he was producing turns like this against his former club Valencia, while at Real Madrid this season he has completed 18 out of 28 dribbles by using his slight frame and magical ability to create space and wriggle into it—sometimes Andres Iniesta like.

If his start in the Spanish capital is consistent with the rest of the story, then his projected Madrid career could prove startling.

He'll develop into a 15-goal-a-season player—an attribute sometime overlooked when rating No. 10s—and La Liga titles, Copa del Reys and Supercopas will surely follow.

And as for the big one?

"Winning La Decima would be a dream come true," Isco told Marca. Alongside a talented crop of young players—Bale, Asier Illarramendi, Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Alvaro Morata—plus the regular faces already associated with Madrid, there's an expectation that dream will become a reality.

If Isco's start is a representation of what's to came at the Bernabeu, Madrid fans are certainly in for a treat.

Zidane comparisons aren't freely chucked about, so it's a sign of how excited the press are in Madrid about the potential for success, personally and for the team, Isco has at the club. 

If one thing is missing from his start, it's a little bit more creativity in terms of direct involvement leading to goals—that's being picky though.

For now though, he remains a young man who is "happy to play."

We're happy to watch.

All stats courtesy of Squawka.

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