Scout Report: Who Is This ‘Next Raul Gonzalez’ Targeted By Manchester United?

It really is something to be called as one of the legendary players from a club the size of Real Madrid, but that is the comparison being made with 18-year-old striker, Borja Mayoral. The forward has been likened to Raul, the one and only, and when the youngster was playing for the Juvenil sides of Real Madrid, he was scoring a ludicrous number of goals and was a target for EPL giants Manchester United in August.

Both Mayoral and Raul do have a few similarities, especially with their rise up the ranks from the various divisions with Real’s other teams. Mayoral did make his debut for the senior squad against Las Palmas recently but is he really the heir apparent to the Raul crown?

A bright future for the youngster

Mayoral joined the Real Madrid youth setup in 2007 and hasn’t looked back ever since. He has been training with the senior squad for a while, he might not have the build and physique at the moment of a strong striker, but he does have a great eye for goal, something that has led to him being compared to Raul.

The physicality should not be a problem for him; after all, we remember the rather freakish transformation of Gareth Bale over the years, so a proper training regime should fix that up for the forward.

Mayoral though is a little different from Raul, while the legend was known for his impeccable scoring ability. Mayoral knows where to be in the penalty box and does have a habit of being in the right place at the right time, but he can also run with the ball that is another important skill set for the youngster.

The Spanish U21 player has the knack of dribbling past opponents and taking on defenders which makes him a scary prospect to deal with. It isn’t just his dribbling ability, Mayoral is known to have great movement and that coupled with an incredible ability to time his runs, can make him a difficult player to play against. Also, it is this ability that makes him an ideal choice to play as the secondary striker though he is more effective when he plays as the striker who is higher up the pitch.

For all the good, Mayoral still has a long way to go before he can be a long-term solution for Real Madrid. He does have the gifts to get better and under Rafa Benitez, he should get more opportunities, hopefully in some of the cup games to play in his favoured position and continue his growth and be a part of Los Galacticos sometime in the future.