beIN SPORTS

Former Real Madrid player and canterano Álvaro Morata is shining during his first season with Juventus. In Italy, Morata is enjoying the minutes he felt he needed throughout the whole 2013-2014 campaign, a year in which he was a late substitution at best given Carlo Ancelotti’s known reluctance to rotate his squad.

Morata joined Juventus for a reported fee of €18 million, a deal which satisfied all parties involved. However, Real Madrid made sure to keep a €30 million buyback clause for this next summer and also a €35 million one for the summer of 2016. Morata’s good season so far and the lack of good attacking options off the bench in Real Madrid’s roster have brought up an interesting dilemma for Los Blancos.

Is Morata good enough to compete with Karim Benzema for a starting spot right now? Would it be worth it to spend that money on a striker who might not be willing to be a reserve again?

So far into the 2014-2015 season, Morata has scored 9 goals and delivered 5 assists for Juventus. Those are good, but not great numbers. Meanwhile, Karim Benzema, an undisputed starter in Real Madrid, has notched up 19 goals and 13 assists over 2,967 minutes, meaning that the Juventus player scores one goal per 142 minutes played while Benzema does it once every 156 minutes.

Nonetheless, trying to look at their potential battle for a spot in Real Madrid by just analyzing their numbers would be way too simplistic. Benzema’s overall contribution to Real Madrid’s attacking system is what could very well be the decisive aspect for Carlo Ancelotti. That’s mainly why the French striker is so valuable in Real.

With Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale capable of providing most of the goals for Real Madrid, Ancelotti needs a striker who can set their teammates up and help the midfielders with his creativity, and that’s precisely Morata’s Achilles’ heel. The Spanish striker excels on a counterattacking team with his pace, plus he is also a hard-worker who presses high up the pitch and a decent goalscorer, but Morata currently lacks the technique needed to maneuver against tight defensive lines who sit back hoping not to concede a goal.

There are not many young prospects available at the striker position, and that’s why Real Madrid should not rule Morata out. If Benzema is indeed Real Madrid’s striker for the long term, it will not be easy to find a quality backup willing to accept his role as a reserve.

Benzema does need a backup. The experiment with Chicharito Hernández can be considered a failure, as the Mexican has failed at providing a scoring impact off the bench. The plan was brilliant, though. Hernández knew what his role was going to be, his loan deal was cheap and many thought that he could add another register to Real Madrid’s game. 

That’s exactly what Los Blancos need, and Morata would be an interesting option, but Real Madrid should wait one more year even if they need to pay €5 extra million to use the buyback clause on Morata’s deal with Juventus. That way, the player will have more time to develop and grow up as a player in Italy, where he should be a permanent fixture for Massimiliano Allegri next season.

If he returns to Real Madrid this next summer, Morata will still spend most games on the bench, something he already confirmed he’s not interested in.

At this stage in his career, all Morata needs is minutes in an elite team and confidence to prove that he can compete with Benzema for a starting spot in Real Madrid. Ancelotti and the board should let Morata develop there for one more year and then evaluate whether he’s the perfect fit for the club or not, because right now he isn’t.