Odriozola vs Hakimi: Who will be Dani Carvajal's successor at Real Madrid?

Before Liverpool's Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Real Madrid's Marcelo and Dani Carvajal were one of the most famous full-back duos in European football. Marcelo, being on the wrong side of 30, is slowly being replaced by Ferland Mendy and Dani Carvajal is now feeling the pressure of being replaced as well. Dani Carvajal has been in top form for Real Madrid for the past couple of seasons but there have been two promising prospects knocking on his door. Real Madrid have Achraf Hakimi and Alvaro Odriozola who are reportedly set to replace Dani Carvajal at right-back.

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Does Achraf Hakimi have enough potential to get in Real Madrid's starting XI?

Achraf Hakimi is seemingly doing wonders during his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund. Achraf Hakimi joined Dortmund on loan from Real Madrid in 2018. The 21-year-old Spaniard has been one of the top players for Dortmund this season. Achraf Hakimi has already scored seven goals and provided 10 assists for Dortmund this season; numbers which make for excellent reading for a right-back.

Achraf Hakimi's loan spell with Dortmund will end on June 2020 and Real Madrid will be left with two options once he returns. the first will be to sell the player to Dortmund or any other team and the second is to give him an extended run in the first team at Madrid. Looking at his current form, Hakimi is expected to demand additional playing time once he returns to Real Madrid. However, this puts pressure on Dani Carvajal, who has been shaky on the right side of defence for Real Madrid this season. However, Achraf Hakimi can play as a right-back and a left-back. Real Madrid could, therefore, offer him Marcelo's position instead of Dani Carvajal's. Zinedine Zidane will have a big decision to make this summer and it could turn out to be a difficult one. 

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Alvaro Odriozola motivated to return to Santiago Bernabeu

Alvaro Odriozola joined Real Madrid for a sum of €30 million in 2018. The 24-year-old possessed immense talent but his poor decision-making skills on the pitch didn't go too well with Zinedine Zidane. Alvaro Odriozola was loaned out to Bayern Munich during the 2020 winter transfer. However, Alvaro Odriozola has said that he is motivated to return to the Bernabeu when the season ends. 

“When the season ends I will return to Madrid and have a talk with coach Zidane. I always felt support and love from him,” said Alvaro Odriozola, who was questioned about how tough it is to get relevant minutes for Real Madrid. “Yes, of course. This is Real Madrid we’re talking about! I feel honoured about being a Real Madrid player and also about playing for Bayern. Not many people can say they’ve played for these two clubs,” he added in an interview.

However, Real Madrid fans are less convinced of Odriozola's abilities in defence. When it comes to choosing between Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola, fans believe the 24-year-old full-back still has to gain some experience before taking his place in the Real Madrid defence. Odriozola could, therefore, end up playing second fiddle to Dani Carvajal for the next couple of seasons.

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Alvaro Odriozola vs Achraf Hakimi 

While Achraf Hakimi has an upper hand over Alvaro Odriozola, Zinedine Zidane will look to get both the players at Real Madrid post the on-going season. Both the players are young and could mean that Real Madrid will not have to dip into the transfer market once Carvajal and Marcelo retire. Madrid could, therefore, hold on to Hakimi and Odriozola despite potential inquiries.

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