Real Madrid Could Find Rodri Alternative in a Familiar Face

The dream midfield target is on his way to Barcelona instead.

José Mourinho is still working to bolster his squad. | Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Having seen Clásico rivals Barcelona strike a deal to sign Manchester City midfielder Rodri, Real Madrid need to work out a Plan B.

The Bernabéu had seemed like the most likely landing spot for Rodri for over 12 months before a surprise twist in the saga took him to Camp Nou instead in a deal worth $87.8 million (€76.5 million).

It leaves Real Madrid forced to continue their seemingly eternal quest to find a successor to midfield maestros Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić. According to AS, interest in AZ Alkmaar’s emerging star, Kees Smit, has been reignited.

The 20-year-old Dutchman has spent the past year growing a reputation as one of the most exciting youngsters in the game. A switch to Barcelona seemed most likely earlier this year but, as was the case with the Rodri saga, things may have now been flipped on their head.

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Could Smit Help Fill Real Madrid’s Rodri Void?

Kees Smit has a long list of admirers. | Dennis Bresser/BSR Agency/Getty Images

In the immediate aftermath of Rodri’s decision to snub Madrid for Barcelona, it was reported that Los Blancos will not dip back into the market for an alternative. In the case of Smit, that still rings true.

Anyone who has been fortunate enough to watch Smit’s emergence in senior soccer will know that comparisons to Rodri cannot really be made. He is a spectacularly well-rounded player whose skillset has carried him anywhere from defensive midfield to an attacking winger.

Indeed, it is that versatility which is believed to have endeared Smit to manager José Mourinho who, rather that searching for the second coming of Rodri, is looking for another player in the mold of a fellow former Man City midfielder moving to La Liga this summer, Bernardo Silva.

Silva started his career further forward as an attacking midfielder but ended his City tenure playing alongside Rodri at the base of midfield, effectively filling in wherever manager Pep Guardiola needed his vast set of attributes. Whatever job needed doing, Silva was asked to do it.

Bernardo Silva could help fill the Rodri void at Real Madrid. | Hesham Elsherif/NurPhoto/Getty Images

With Rodri not arriving, Silva is likely to take up a similar one-size-fits-all approach to life in Madrid but, at 32 years old, perhaps needs a set of fresh legs alongside him. That’s where Smit comes in.

Smit is comfortable in defensive midfield, where his passing range and love of driving forward have been vital to AZ’s success in the Eredivisie, but he is just as happy operating in attacking midfield and trying to directly contribute goals and assists.

With that in mind, Smit can perhaps be better compared to the likes of Modrić or Kroos—players who just want to get the ball moving forwards—with the physicality and engine that remind many of the Madrid legends in their younger years.

He is clearly more of a gamble that Rodri or any of the other big-name alternatives that have been suggested, having yet to take his talents outside the Dutch top flight, but scouts from a number of clubs have long agreed that he boasts all the signs of a player who could adapt to life in a tougher division.

Smit’s potential arrival at the Bernabéu would not necessarily compensate for missing out on Rodri, but it would undoubtedly inject some life into Madrid’s midfield and open the door to a decade of success.

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