Zinedine Zidane Provides Real Madrid With Hope Beyond Big Transfer Deals

If Zinedine Zidane wanted to build a case for Real Madrid to aggressively enter the transfer market, then the UEFA Super Cup meeting with Sevilla next week could be of great help.

The European champions will go into the showpiece in Norway rather shorthanded while a raft of Euro 2016 protagonists bring their periods of rest and recuperation to an end, so Los Merengues’ need to reinforce ahead of a long season would, if needed, be quickly apparent. 

Yet there doesn’t appear to be any great urgency being conveyed either by Zidane or other figures of authority at the club, despite a quiet transfer window and the prospect of a FIFA player registration ban hanging over the club, which is currently suspended pending appeal, per Marca (h/t Gazzetta World).

This is as quiet as it gets for Florentino Perez's Real Madrid.

In many other summers, it would be easy to imagine a titanic battle with Manchester United for the services of Paul Pogba, with La Liga’s representatives likely prevailing in the end. There has been no denial of interest in Pogba coming from the Bernabeu, but neither has there been a firm offer. Manchester United’s path to the completion of a complex negotiation has been uncluttered.

The Alvaro Morata situation seems like Real Madrid’s current approach to transfers in microcosm, as it stands. The club’s only deal of note so far is a big one on paper, as Real paid €30 million to bring their "canterano" (academy prospect) back from Juventus. Yet what promised to be the first tile in a line of galactico dominos has not transpired, at least not so far.

It was widely assumed that Morata was just coming back as collateral, bought back low to resell high—in the same manner as another Alvaro (Negredo) was recalled by buy-back option from Almeria in 2009 and sold on to Sevilla for three times the price.

Yet despite the reported interest of Arsenal and Chelsea, among others, per ESPN FC, Zidane has insisted the club will not sell. “He will remain a Madrid player,” confirmed the coach this week, with no room for nuance or ambiguity, per Sky Sports.  

It’s a considerable statement of intent, especially given recent history. Morata is not likely to walk into the XI, and in the last few years, Perez has made a fortune selling what they perceive to be below-A-list players like Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria.

Keeping Morata is something that would have been hard to imagine pre-Zidane. He’s exactly the sort of player whom one would expect Perez to see as worth more as cash in the bank than as a member of the squad. Here, evidence of the club doing the right thing from an on-the-pitch rather than commercial perspective is stacking up.

There’s a delicious irony in the fact that the man who is Real’s first real galactico coach is also the one who appears to be creating an atmosphere of genuine meritocracy at the Bernabeu.

It has been a keynote of his nascent reign. Casemiro becoming a key part of the side, Isco and (especially) James Rodriguez being marginalised and even Dani Carvajal supplanting last summer’s big arrival, Danilo, are all hallmarks of Zizou’s approach.

Lalo R. Villar/Associated Press/Associated Press

It’s still early, of course—and even though he has a Champions League title to his name, we’re still some way from finding out exactly what sort of coach he really is—but Zidane is already forcing those who laughed at the notion of him being Madrid’s Pep Guardiola to at least pause for thought.

The route from the B-team is obviously at the crux of this comparison, and Zidane has maintained this connection, with Dominican Republic forward Mariano prominent in pre-season, as well as his sons Enzo and Luca.

That club DNA clearly matters to Zidane, which was also clear in his promotion of Lucas Vazquez in the coda of last season, when Cristiano Ronaldo was struggling for fitness. Morata falls into this category, too.

Backing up Karim Benzema has been a real struggle for Real in recent seasons, let alone finding genuine competition for the Frenchman. Morata provides an alternative (and his profile is a sharply contrasting one from Benzema’s, given his pace, size and directness), but he also knows the land. It’s reminiscent of when Cesc Fabregas or, more successfully, Gerard Pique was brought back to Camp Nou by Guardiola.

So Morata’s return is quite distinct from that of Fernando Morientes in 2004, after he too bit his parent club in the Champions League. It’s no knee-jerk reaction, more than a year on, and it represents a continuation of policy so far under Zidane.

Though it remains to be seen if the Spain striker can carve himself regular game time, it’s plain that Morata will have his chance in the UEFA Super Cup match, where he is widely expected to be used in conjunction with Benzema in a 4-4-2, per AS (h/t Football Espana).

If Benzema—currently dealing with a hip complaint—doesn’t make it, Mariano might come in, fresh from that prolific campaign with Castilla and a strong warm-up for the campaign that included one fantastic strike against Chelsea (see the video below).

With Gareth Bale reportedly determined to play his part in Trondheim, by which time he’ll only have been back in training for a couple of days, per Marca, Morata and another vaunted youngster, 20-year-old Marco Asensio, who was superb on loan to Espanyol last season, have no time to lose.

Zidane has plenty of personnel matters to decide on—whether to keep or loan Asensio and Mariano, for example, as he already decided that regular action at Wolfsburg would suit Borja Mayoral more than bench-warming in the capital. He will surely dip into the club’s funds, too, as a central defender and left-back competition for Marcelo would be useful. James and Isco could follow the departing Jese out, as reported by AS.

Still, Zidane has already made Real Madrid’s immediate future about more than signings. That, clearly, is something to be applauded.