Vinicius Junior isn't the only player suffering from Yan Diomande's success
Real Madrid superstar Vinícius Junior has had a very difficult time being consistently good this season. There have been so many bad games from the Brazilian already, and with the arrival and explosion of young star Yan Diomande, things are looking very bleak for Vinícius Junior at the moment.
He has only scored one goal and provided three assists this season for his club and just has not performed nearly as well as people expect him to week in, week out. He has been missing simple chances in front of goal and has also made some really bad decisions in these last few weeks.
However, he is not the only player who would be suffering due to Diomande's success. This would apply especially if Vinicius Junior just comes back and slots into the lineup for Real Madrid after his suspension. That's because if he does that, Diomande will be the one who gets moved to the right wing, even though he's been playing brilliantly on the left.
Endrick will drop further down the pecking order if Vinicius Junior keeps his place on the left, forcing Diomande to go to the right
If the Ivory Coast international moves to the right, that means Arda Guler drops further down the pecking order. If Guler drops down the pecking order, so does Endrick, who would be the main sufferer in this situation.
The thing about Guler is that he can still play a lot of minutes for Real Madrid as a creative, deep-lying midfielder whenever Real Madrid are not starting him on the right wing. He can easily slot into the midfield and be functional there because there are not many midfielders ahead of him in the pecking order.
Endrick, on the other hand, has to worry about Diomande and Guler on the right if Vinicius Junior comes back to the lineup. Not only that, but he also has to worry about Kylian Mbappé at striker. Carlos Espi is also there, which makes him a second- or third-option striker and a third option on the right wing. Diomande, doing as well as he is, can only hamper the already limited minutes that Endrick gets.
For the club, because of Vinícius Junior's hierarchy, it is a mix of three completely different situations somehow linking up, but that is the sad reality of what Endrick is currently facing. If Vinícius Junior remains on the bench, which is something that should happen even after he comes back from his suspension, Endrick will still have a chance to compete for the right-wing spot with Guler. There will be games where Guler plays in midfield, and there will also be games where Real Madrid need a pacey winger to come on, even if Guler is on the right side.
Endrick will always be the first option off the bench on the right if Diomande is on the left. The same cannot be said about the Brazilian if Vinícius Junior takes the left-wing spot back from Diomande. It remains to be seen how Jose Mourinho thinks about these things in future games, but based on merit, Endrick should still be competing on the right wing with Guler and not Diomande, who deserves to be starting every game on the left.
