'Buffon', a Ramos lookalike and a 'lucky charm': The youngsters on tour with Madrid (2024)

Real Madrid’s pre-season tours are often a chance for youngsters to make an impact — and this year’s trip to the United States is no different.

Head coach Carlo Ancelotti has called up 12 youth players from La Fabrica — ‘the factory’, as Madrid’s productive academy is informally known — for the matches against AC Milan (tonight in Chicago, Illinois), Barcelona (Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey) and Chelsea (Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina).

Those players will have the chance to take advantage of senior players being on holiday, including Jude Bellingham and new signing Kylian Mbappe. The Brazilian trio of Eder Militao, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, meanwhile, will not join the tour until August 1.

“They want to learn, to listen, to improve,” Ancelotti said of the youth players. “They all have quality. I don’t know if they will play for Madrid, but they have a future (in elite football).”

The Italian has not been known for giving too many opportunities to academy players during his two spells at Madrid. But he coordinated with Raul, the legendary former forward and current coach of the reserve team Castilla, to put together the list of prospects.

From the man nicknamed “Buffon” to a centre-back hoping to be the next Sergio Ramos, we take you through each of those youngsters and what their future looks like…

Fran Gonzalez (19 years old, goalkeeper)

This will be the third season Gonzalez has trained with the first team. Goalkeeping coach Luis Llopis is a big admirer and selected him to join Thibaut Courtois and Andriy Lunin.

Club sources — who, like all those cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — say Ancelotti calls him his “Buffon” because his 6ft 6in (199cm) frame reminds him of the former Italy and Juventus No 1.

Gonzalez is comfortable coming off his line and is extremely agile. He arrived in the U.S. two days after being part of the Spain squad that won the Under-19 European Championship in Northern Ireland — although he did not play — and is represented by the same agency as former Madrid No 1 Iker Casillas.

Lorenzo Aguado (21, right-back)

Agaudo joined Madrid’s youth ranks in 2010. He comes in to replace Dani Carvajal, who is still away after helping Spain win the Euros.

Agaudo played only 13 games for Castilla in the Spanish third tier last season due to a muscle injury and appendicitis. Despite interest from La Liga clubs, including Alaves, the plan is for the full-back to settle at Castilla this season.

Ancelotti has put his faith in Agaudo for these three games and is expected to alternate between him and Lucas Vazquez during the tour.

Raul Asencio (21, centre-back)

Asencio was the first academy centre-back to be selected for the tour, before Jacobo Ramon and Joan Martinez were added.

Coaching staff sources have been impressed by Asencio’s performances in training and he will be useful in the U.S. given Antonio Rudiger and Jesus Vallejo are their only available senior centre-backs. Rudiger has only trained three times since returning from holiday and Vallejo is still struggling with muscular problems.

Jacobo Ramon (19, centre-back)

One of the academy’s two most promising centre-backs along with Martinez. He stands out for his 6ft 4in frame and his calmness on the ball.

Ramon was one of former right-back and under-19s coach Alvaro Arbeloa’s favourite players in that team last season and will be part of Raul’s Castilla side this term. Ramon was one of the best performers in Madrid’s first training session at Chicago’s Soldier Field stadium, impressing with his speed and footwork.

He joined up with the squad after playing twice for Spain’s Euros-winning under-19s and could be given opportunities after Nacho left for Saudi side Al Qadsiah and Madrid missed out to Manchester United on the signing of Leny Yoro. The coaching staff are also considering using midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni as an emergency centre-back again this season.

Joan Martinez (16, centre-back)

Probably the academy player who has attracted the most attention.

He still lives at Valdebebas, the home of Madrid’s training ground and academy, and only made it to the States because of Vallejo’s injury problems. The club do not tend to call up such young players, but his physique, duel-winning ability and control convinced the staff to take him on the tour.

Martinez came through the ranks at Levante before joining Madrid last summer. His idol is Ramos and his long hair gives him more than a passing resemblance to the former centre-back in his early days at Madrid.

Members of his camp have received several enquiries from English clubs asking about his situation, but he’s not considering anything other than staying at Madrid. He signed a contract until 2026 last year.

Rafael Obrador (20, left-back)

Obrador is an attack-minded full-back, with Ancelotti even using him as a winger in these early training sessions.

Raul benched him for Castilla at times last season but his potential has not gone unnoticed, with La Liga teams such as Las Palmas and clubs from outside Spain enquiring about his situation. His future is unclear.

Mario Martin (20, midfielder)

The most experienced of the youth players on the tour, Martin is captain of Raul’s Castilla team and, along with Nico Paz, is the most likely to play in the first team next season — if he stays.

Ancelotti admires Martin’s off-the-ball work ethic and he made his first-team debut in a win against Alaves in May. Several teams in La Liga have asked about his situation, including Espanyol, Valencia and Valladolid.

For now, however, Martin wants to stay at Madrid and wait for opportunities. Valdebebas sources think he could make the jump to the elite after spending three years with Castilla, but the board do not see much room for him given Madrid have seven midfielders.

Cesar Palacios (19, attacking midfielder)

One of La Fabrica’s most talented midfielders, he is one of the Castilla players Ancelotti’s coaching staff most appreciate.

His father is the Basque team Eibar’s sporting director and he could play for Athletic Bilbao thanks to his family’s ties to the region — Athletic only use players who were born or raised in the Basque Country and recently showed interest in his situation. But Palacios is under contract until 2027 and needs more time to develop his game at Castilla after a poor first year.

Nico Paz (19, attacking midfielder)

Paz is known among Madrid fans for the goal he scored against Napoli in November to seal a 4-2 win in the Champions League group stages. Born in Tenerife, he is an Argentina youth international and his father, Pablo Paz, was a centre-back for the Albiceleste.

🏟️🔊 ¡Así suena el primer gol de Nico Paz en el Bernabéu!#UCL pic.twitter.com/g7ngx3WxFc

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) December 1, 2023

Madrid are considering letting him go to a fellow La Liga team to allow him to develop. They want this to be for a fee with a buy-back option, as in the case of previous Madrid youth products, which has delayed the operation.

Paz has a superb left foot and a great understanding of the game, but was given fewer and fewer opportunities with the first-team squad as the season went on. His recent change of agency was interpreted as a sign he was closer to leaving.

Jeremy de Leon (20, right-winger)

De Leon was ineligible to play in the Champions League last season as he was not registered with UEFA, but Madrid still called him up for every game from the quarter-finals onwards.

When Madrid lifted a record-extending 15th European title, De Leon, a Puerto Rico international, was nicknamed Ancelotti’s “charm” by fans — but his camp and the coaching staff say it had nothing to do with superstition.

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The skilful winger signed for the academy from Valencian side Castellon and played just eight times for Castilla in the second half of the season. But Ancelotti saw enough in De Leon’s training sessions with the first team to take him to the U.S.

For now, he is expected to stay at Castilla for a further season and combine that with first-team training. Valdebebas sources say he needs to bulk up, although he has already made two appearances for Puerto Rico’s national team, scoring twice.

Alvaro Rodriguez (20, centre-forward)

Rodriguez broke into the first team during the 2022-23 season, scoring a memorable derby equaliseragainst Atletico Madrid, but Joselu’s arrival meant he only played twice for the first team last term.

His chances are unlikely to get much better this campaign with Mbappe and Endrick now ahead of him, but he can prove himself in pre-season. He offers a different profile at 6ft 4in and is a typical poacher.

La Liga clubs have shown interest in Rodriguez, but Madrid wanting a fee for him has slowed down any possible moves. Getafe were one of those monitoring him but coach Jose Bordalas was unconvinced. In the meantime, Rodriguez is making the most of his time in the U.S. — he is well-liked by the other players and Rudiger has been heard shouting “toro, toro!” at him in training, the striker’s nickname.

Juanmi Latasa (23, centre-forward)

Latasa returns after two seasons on loan at Getafe. He had been leaning towards a move to another La Liga team, but it was finally decided he would travel to the U.S.

Madrid will look for a way out for him, but for now, the coaching staff are taking advantage of his qualities in training as a left-footed centre-forward with a similar aerial presence to Rodriguez.

(Top photos: Fran Gonzalez, Jeremy De Leon; Getty Images)

Guillermo began his career covering Real Madrid and the sports industry for Diario AS. He later moved to London and became AS and Cadena Ser correspondent. He has since returned to Madrid and joins us at The Athletic where he will deliver Real Madrid news, interviews, stories, and more.