Real Madrid Locks In Diego Lacosta After Strong Youth Performances

Real Madrid has decided to put a "padlock" on one of its most promising youth players. It is midfielder Diego Lacosta, just 18 years old. The player has shown quite a big progression in the club's youth categories, so they have decided to give him a reward: his renewal. At Valdebebas, they are already beginning to compare him to Federico Valverde.

This is because, like the captain, Lacosta has qualities that, when you watch him on the field, make it seem like you are watching the Uruguayan. For example, a motor that seems to never turn off, as well as long legs that make his stride seem endless, just as happens with the ex-Penarol player, who was nicknamed "Little Bird" for this very reason.

This renewal is worth celebrating, since the Aragonese player opened the scoring for the youth team that faced AEK Athens in the Youth League. Lacosta, who was born in Zaragoza on Feb. 16, 2008, arrived at La Fabrica in 2020 from Santo Domingo Juventud. Today he is a reference for Real Madrid 'C', that is, the second reserve team behind Castilla.

His great performance at La Fabrica helped him climb the ranks until coach Jose Mourinho noticed him during the last preseason. It was then that he fulfilled any academy player's dream: under the Portuguese coach's orders, he traveled to the three friendly matches the first team had and played minutes in two of them (Fiorentina and Ferencvaros).

Lacosta conquered the Youth League in Lausanne and, with Alvaro Lopez's Juvenile team, was proclaimed European champion, adding to his title count the League and the Champions Cup. He put the finishing touch at the Santiago Bernabeu, where he lifted the Under-20 Intercontinental Cup in what was the final with the most spectators remembered in the category.

All this was also a test of versatility for the player, since he wore four academy shirts in a single season. From the Juvenile B to Castilla. That is why the comparison with Valverde, a midfielder with a strong body and a lot of reading of the game, is understandable. He devours meters, joins the attack from the second line, distributes the ball, and competes with a character worthy of the Uruguayan.

We will see if, in the future, we can see him regularly in the first team, or another option would be that, just like many La Fabrica players during this summer, they left for other teams, but Madrid kept a buyback option for many of them. It is also an option for him to gain experience in the first division.