Raul De Tomás, or simply R.D.T., has just signed a 5-year contract at Real Madrid and says its his dream to be a first-team player for the club since he first came to join them from the age of 8. Now after a loan spells in the Segunda, will he be ready to make to step up for Los Blancos under new man Julen Lopetegui?

It also appears the squad could be becoming more depleted and may open up for the 23 year-old this season. As Cristiano Ronaldo moves to Juventus, Benzema turns 31 this season after only managing to notch 5 goals in 2166 minutes of La Liga football last season (despite an NPxG per 90 of 0.52) and usual 3rd choice striker Borja Mayoral looking elsewhere in order to find first-team football. Although there are now links with the likes of Lewandowski and Icardi to fill the spot of first-choice striker this still offers a glimmer of hope for De Tomás. It just takes an injury to have a real chance of game time, and he could even be the go to out-and-out attacker off the bench, especially if the manager loses faith in Benzema’s goal scoring ability. However should the opportunity arise the young striker will need to be able to show he has the quality to play with the big boys.

R.D.T. earns his place in the first-team squad off the back of a very impressive season on loan at Segunda Division champions Rayo Vallecano towards the south of Madrid with 0.72 non-penalty goals and 3.2 shots per 90. More of a direct poacher-type striker with good control, he didn’t create lots of chances for his Vallacas teammates this season and only earned 3 assists however that wasn’t his game or responsibility. As he was surrounded by more creative players such as Embarba, Unai Lopez and attacking full-back Alex Moreno, he was in the team to provide the final goal-scoring touch. Often finding himself in the left halfspace looking to make runs between the opposition defences right-side channel or challenge a potentially smaller full-back in the air.

His off the ball movement and positioning are what made him a stand-out player this season and it’s whether he can continue to show this footballing intelligence against higher standard defenders. I would be intrigued to see him play with the likes of Isco, Modric, Kroos and Bale to see whether playing with the best play-makers in world football can get the best out of him and see him continue his impressive goal scoring rate.

A player who is strong in the air, possesses exceptional composure, willing to wait the keeper out and superb technique and ball control could be a deadly surprise weapon for Real next season and is one-to-watch at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.