Close observers of Real Madrid’s academy are beginning to get very excited about 17-year-old youngster Cesar Palacios. He scored a brace against Atletico Madrid in a recent 5-0 win over Fernando Torres’ Atletico Madrid under-19 side, which should guarantee Los Blancos their league title. They now have a three-point advantage with just two games to go.
Palacios is one of the stars of Alvaro Arbeloa’s side that are starting to convince those in Madrid that he may be a quality manager in the making. Earlier in the season he started all seven of the Juvenil A side’s games in the UEFA Youth League, scoring five goals and giving two assists in that time, as noted by Marca.
Across the season, Palacios now has 15 goals in 27 games under Arbeloa, part of a brilliant run of form through the under-19 teams at Real Madrid. In all competitions he has 21 goals and 6 assists this season. Palacios joined from Numancia where his father played and has been producing goals all the way through his growth at Juvenil C and B before moving up to play under Arbeloa.
A sign of just how highly Real Madrid rate him is the five-year contract they gave him in December, securing his future until 2027. Palacios recently scored on his under-19 debut for Spain against Denmark too.
Stylistically, Palacios is a vertical central midfielder able to get up and down the pitch. Hard-working defensively, he excels at finding space between the lines and making vertical passes, or driving forward himself.
As his statistics show, he also has a keen eye for goal, getting forward often and effectively, although it has been noted that he could perhaps exercise a little more control on the ball at times. Technically gifted, he can pass, dribble and shoot effectively, all of which he looks to do regularly.
As is always the case with Real Madrid, the pathway to the first team is littered with obstacles. However there is genuine excitement about Palacios, and with Arbeloa touted for a first-team role at some point in the near future, perhaps that could work in Palacios’ favour.
Shades of Guti in that kids slicing passes.