Camavinga's dream start for Real Madrid

Martin Macdonald

• 16 Sept 2021 11:48 BST
• 5 min read

Real Madrid made no attempt to hide their desire to sign Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe this summer, but in the end, they had to 'settle' on wonderkid Eduardo Camavinga.

Mbappe has been Madrid's number one target for well over a year, so much so that prior to the recently closed summer transfer window in 2021, they did not spend a penny in the previous two windows.

President Florentino Perez pled poverty for the club during the European Super League debacle, but a few months later after those plans were scrapped, they bid €200 million for Mbappe.

FOOTBALLTRANSFERS' MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS IN THE WORLD

PSG didn't even sit down to negotiate, and so Mbappe remained.

Madrid, wanting at least one major signing this summer, turned their attentions to another long-term target in Camavinga.

The young midfielder, who is recognised as one of the best players at his age in the world, would subsequently complete a €30m transfer to Santiago Bernabeu.

He has hit the ground running superbly, and that outlay is already looking like a potential steal.

Camavinga has featured twice off the bench so far for Madrid, amounting to 34 minutes of football.

In that time he has one goal and one assist, which makes for one goal contribution every 16 minutes.

Real Madrid 5-2 Celta

Real Madrid were 3-2 up against Celta in La Liga when Camavinga came off the bench, and it took him just six minutes to have an impact as he scored his debut goal in the 72nd minute to make it 4-2.

After a superb run and strike from Luka Modric, Camavinga latched on to a save from the goalkeeper to blast home into the empty net. It highlighted his desire to run in behind from midfield.

He may not have earned a goal or an assist for the goal to make it 5-2, but it may as well have been an assist as it was his fabulous quick feet inside the box which forced Denis Suarez to commit the foul for the penalty, which Karim Benzema dispatched.

Inter 0-1 Real Madrid

Los Blancos were lucky to escape San Siro with all three points in the Champions League on Wednesday as Inter showed plenty of offence, particularly in the first half.

In the dying minutes of the match, Camavinga exchanged a superb one-two with Toni Kroos and, with the ball not yet touching the floor, he managed to cushion a volleyed cross into the path of Rodrygo, who fired home to make it 1-0.

It was yet another telling contribution, and Carlo Ancelotti will certainly be excited at how quickly Camavinga has settled in.