Carlo Ancelotti has been forced to trust a number of Real Madrid’s second string players in recent weeks, as their injuries continue to make a large impact on his selections. One of the beneficiaries has been left-back Fran Garcia, who has now put together a run of 5 starts in 7 games.
That has come off the back of a muscle injury to Ferland Mendy, but whereas before the Frenchman’s absence meant a shaky Garcia introduction, the 24-year-old Castilla product is starting to find his feet. According to Marca, the advice of the coaching staff is starting to be seen in his game, and no longer do they have concerns about using him.
In recent weeks Garcia has started to move forward as he did at Rayo Vallecano, without fearing his own mistakes or risks. Now he is showing much more aggression when defending, and winning his duels with the opposition. His camp have been working hard with him in recent weeks to make Garcia see that he must take opportunity with both hands, and do what he can in every game – something that has seen his game take a step forward.
With Los Blancos potentially stepping back from their pursuit of Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies, Garcia may find himself with extra time to establish himself at his hometown club. If they miss out on Davies, it seems likely that they will go for another option there, but given Garcia’s improvement, it is not unthinkable that it is the ageing Frenchman.