Zidane has found his very own Pogba in Fede Valverde Real Madrid Impressing in all aspects

After Real Madrid's unsuccessful attempts to sign Manchester United's Paul Pogba in the summer, the recent impressive displays of Fede Valverde have left Los Blancos confident that they are better off without the Frenchman.

Zinedine Zidane had identified Pogba as his top priority to strengthen a midfield that had been lacking energy and youth among other things, and was desperate for his fellow countryman to join the club.

The sales of Mateo Kovacic and Marcos Llorente as well as the loan departure of Dani Ceballos meant that Zidane was left with few choices other than those he worked with in his first spell at the club, plus Valverde.

Early season injuries in that department, particularly to Luka Modric, made Zidane's life difficult but it was during that period in which he discovered that the solution to his midfield problems had been in front of him all along.

"It's true that I'm happy for him," Zidane said of Valverde after the 4-2 win over Granada.

"He's very good and he's always shown that. He's growing.

"He always moves forward, he wants the ball and he's been key for two goals [against Granada]."

The coach is clearly delighted, but so are the club after deciding not to part ways with an amount in excess of 120 million euros to sign Pogba.

Zidane has a tenacious midfielder in Valverde who has provided Madrid with many of the qualities that the coach had been looking for from a big name and, at just 21 years of age, Los Blancos appear to have a gem in their ranks for a long time to come.