Real Madrid has a cohort of players who are considered untouchable at this point, including Vinicius Jr., Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham in attack and the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy at the back.
It is the midfield, however, where regular rotations arise given the vast plethora of profiles at the manager’s disposal. Needless to say, establishing oneself as a regular amidst that competition is far from simple.
As relayed by MARCA, however, Federico Valverde has attained that status under Carlo Ancelotti and the manager cannot even think of starting the Uruguayan on the bench.
A leader on the field
The Spanish outlet further that Valverde is undroppable for Ancelotti for a combination of reasons.
For the Italian gaffer, Valverde is a leader both on and off the field and is a role model for his teammates not only during games but also in training.
Undroppable. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
The player always gives his everything on the ball irrespective of the settling and the manager highly values his commitment and dedication to the crest.
In terms of footballing profile, Valverde offers something different that his teammates cannot compensate as his work rate off the ball is off the charts, so his ability to step forward and deliver in front of goal on need.
So far this season, the 26-year-old has started in all 13 of Real Madrid’s La Liga games, scoring three goals and providing two assists in that duration.
He averages 1.3 key passes and 1.2 shots per game and contributes close to seven defensive actions per game. In fact, he is one of the Real Madrid players with the most minutes played across competitions this season.
After starting two games at right-back, Valverde will return to the midfield tomorrow against Getafe after Lucas Vazquez’s return from injury and it will be interesting to see who he is paired with in the middle of the park.