Real Madrid’s £2.5million bargain wonder kid Marco Asensio set for first-team promotion after impressing Zinedine Zidane
Legendary former Spain boss Vicent del Bosque called the 20-year-old midfielder: "The greatest talent there is in Spain"
ZINEDINE ZIDANE believes he may have unearthed the new super-talent of Spanish football in Real Madrid’s midfield maestro Marco Asensio.
The playmaker was set to be shipped out on loan again this season with the Real squad already full of mega-talents - but was so impressive in the second half of the 3-1 defeat to PSG on Thursday night that the Galactico’s boss is considering a major U-turn.
The La Liga giants were three goals down to the French champions inside the opening 40 minutes before the 20-year-old was sent on at the interval and took over the game.
After starring for struggling Mallorca for two seasons he earned a £2.5million move to the Bernabeu in June 2015 but was loaned out to Espanyol where he shone once again and scored four league goals in a side that finished mid-table.
Vicente del Bosque even revealed his stand-out performances almost earned him a place at Euro 2016 where he would have been competing with Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas for a place in the side but was harshly cut in what now could be construed as an error on the ex-boss’s part.
Del Bosque described the left-footed star as the “greatest talent there is in Spain” and added: “We were on the verge of taking him to the European Championship but in the end we decided against it because there was so much competition.”
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The emerging talent provided 10 La Liga assists last season, the sixth most in the division behind huge established stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar and Koke.
The attacking No10 also had 62 shots on goal with 29 key passes in a side that was struggling to stay in the top flight.
The wonder kid had his pick of sides to join on loan last term but picked Espanyol to be close to his family and the move paid off in spades.
On his debut against Real Sociedad he sprang the offside trap and won a penalty in a 3-2 win.
And, three days later, his superb free-kick created the winning goal at home to Valencia.
Later in the season with his stock dramatically on the rise, he pulled off a brilliant hat-trick of assists in the 3-1 win over Real Betis in October.
On the international scene he has already lifted the 2014-15 Uefa under-19 championship with Spain and was named Player of the Tournament in Greece.
He scored both the goals in the 2-0 semi-final over France and his beautiful reverse-pass set up the second goal in the 2-0 win over Russia in the final.
The midfielder had a Dutch mum, with the name surname Willemsen, which led to Holland fans trying to tempt him to switch teams with the hashtag #asensiowillemseninoranje.
Sadly the players beloved mother died in 2011 and he has dedicated everyone one of his goals to her since, adding to his reputation as a quality person as well as player.
Spanish manager Sergio Gonzalez called him “magic” from their time at Espanyol together and former team-mate Gerard Moreno went even further.
The striker purred: “He has it all.
“He is a spectacular player and, as a person, he's a 10 out of 10."
When Asensio was signed by the La Liga kings he made up a trio of prodigious talents earmarked for huge success.
However, Norwegian starlet Martin Odegaard has fallen dramatically from grace with former boss Carlo Ancelotti claiming his signing was nothing but a publicity stunt.
And Brazilian midfielder Lucas Silva has also so far failed to make the grade and impress Zidane.
But Asensio looks to be the one to buck the trend and Madrid stars like Isco and James Rodriguez should now be looking over their shoulder at the baby faced assassin who could soon be forcing them out of the side.