Scouting Real Madrid Transfer Target Andrea Favilli

Real Madrid have been the slow burners of the transfer market this summer, an unusual position for a club of such size and financial power over the years, but as reigning UEFA Champions League holders, they'll have every confidence that the squad can push for honours again in 2016/17.

Indeed, having already secured the UEFA Super Cup, manager Zinedine Zidane has tallied two trophies in less than a year in charge and has consistently spoken about his happiness with the squad size and balance over the summer.

Marca's Peter Coates reported the boss saying, "We are not going [make] to signings for the sake of signings," but one area of the club where the recruitment drive never stops is with youth development.

Already this summer, the likes of Omar Mascarell and Alvaro Medran have departed after coming through La Fabrica, while others including Borja Mayoral and Marcos Llorente have left on loan for the upcoming season.

Mariano is also expected to leave, with Marca's J. I. Garcia-Ochoa and Harry De Cosemo reporting interest from Villarreal, meaning a new striker is required to fill his boots at Castilla—and Livorno's striker Andrea Favilli looks to be the man in the frame.

Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC quoted an interview with Favilli's agent from Tuttomercatweb, with Vincenzo Rispoli saying: "The rumours linked to Real Madrid are very good. Even some Spanish journalists rang me to ask what was happening with Los Blancos, and we are happy about this."

With a decision on Real Madrid's possible transfer ban coming from FIFA this weekend, any move will have to be made fast—so what would Real be getting from the 19-year-old Italian?

Juve

A Livorno youngster, the teenage forward had already rattled in the goals for his parent club's youth sides and made the bench in Serie B for the senior side before joining Juventus halfway through 2014/15. After that initial period of adaptation, it was last season when Favilli really found his groove at Juve, and 2015/16 yielded 20 goals in black and white.

While most of Favilli's strikes came in the Italian under-19 league, the Primavera A, he also notched once against Manchester City in the UEFA Youth League and made one substitute appearance in Serie A for the seniors, replacing Alvaro Morata for the final instances of a game against Frosinone.

That was Favilli's only senior appearance for Juventus, but he made the bench half a dozen more times, including in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Inter Milan.

"

Vamos🇮🇹 Italia-Svizzera 💪🏻💪🏻 #readytofight pic.twitter.com/32IkcT5aER

— Andrea Favilli (@andreafavilli9) March 27, 2016"

Come the end of the campaign, the Turin club opted not to make his loan deal a permanent one for just under €2 million, but regardless, Favilli went on to enjoy participation in the UEFA Under-19 Championship, playing four times for Italy as they lost in the final to France.

Real Madrid's interest has grown since then, while other clubs in Italy have also taken note of his goalscoring exploits at junior level. La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Tribal Football's Carlos Volcano) reported both Inter and AC Milan hold an interest—and also that Juve can still make good on their option to sign him permanently.

As Juve writer and follower of the youth sides Daniel Pennuto told Bleacher Report, the suggestion is that the Serie A champions may well retain Favilli regardless:

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Livorno have appeared tough to negotiate with and wanted the agreed fee of €1.7 million. It's possible that Juve wanted to structure the deal differently, or include other players, and Favilli also recently changed agents.

Favilli is a good prospect and I suspect he'll end up at Juve one way or another, but he's not the finest in the Primavera side—that would be Moise Bioty Kean or Pol Lirola, who is heading to Sassuolo on loan.

"

Style

Real fans have seen Sergio Diaz arrive this summer to play in Castilla's attack, while Mariano has spent the summer with the seniors in pre-season.

Favilli differs to both in style: Where they are mobile attackers, always on the move and exploiting gaps behind defenders or dropping deep to take possession, the Italian is a more robust, powerful hold-up man who is an utter predator in the box.

The most clearly noticeable trait about his goalscoring antics is how few touches he needs: One-touch finishes or one to control and one to shoot—that's about it.

Juve's youth team naturally produced plenty of goalscoring chances for him, but Favilli's penchant for getting shots away quickly saw him regularly rewarded. Smart runs across the face of the six-yard box often allowed him to reach crosses first and head or shoot from close range, while taking through passes in his stride were inevitably followed by an unerring finish toward the bottom corners.

Wyscout

That's not to say he was only a penalty-box finisher—one strike against Genoa was a top-drawer strike from outside the box, though still instinctive—but the hallmarks of his play are clearly stamped from around five to 15 yards from goal.

Wyscout

In deeper areas, however, the limitations of Favilli's game are seen: His lack of agility is compensated by his power and aerial strength in hold-up play, but when asked to turn in possession and dribble away from a defender marking him closely, he can struggle. Link-up play tends to be kept simple, passing short and moving into space or attacking the box, rather than consistently trying to be the hub through which all offensive moves progress.

Future

Aged 19, wherever he ends up, it looks clear that Favillli will be one for the future, rather than one to have an immediate impact. While some strikers can break through early, it's often those who are of a more electric, explosive nature—not at all the main facets of Favilli's game.

JAY LAPRETE/Getty Images

There is plenty of time for progression in his game, and at Castilla at least, players hoping to break through to the senior team are often in place until 20, 21 or even 22 years of age. Playing competitive football obviously helps in that regard—although the Madrid club are desperate for the B team to move back up to La Segunda rather than languishing in the third tier of Spanish football as they do at present.

Is Favilli likely to be banging on the door within a year to displace Morata or Karim Benzema? Absolutely not.

He doesn't possess the all-round game to contribute to a top-tier, well-rounded attacking side, and his lack of technical ability might well hamper him in that regard long term—but he is a goalscorer, and for any young hopeful, that's a fantastic starting point that will always keep him in demand.

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