Raul Asencio: Real Madrid's homegrown defender set to save Florentino Perez millions

Asencio isn't quite the fairy-tale story of a Madrid local, stepping into the side from the day he could walk. Rather, the centre-back has taken some of a roundabout path to get here.

Born in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, Asencio played for his local club, before joining the Las Palmas set-up in 2012. He remained there for five years, before joining Madrid in 2017, at the age of 14.

It is not a novel concept, these days, for top talents to be accelerated through the youth system in Madrid, and Asencio is among those who has risen rapidly. He graduated to Madrid's C team in 2022 as a 19-year-old - still young for a centre-back yet to flesh out. Before the end of that campaign, he was involved in the club's reserves (Real Madrid Castilla), and soon became a regular under the tutelage of club legend Raul as he was rewarded with the captain's armband.

Still, despite his quiet excellence at academy level, there was a prevailing sense that Asencio's talents might meet their limit. After all, how can you crack a Madrid side with so much talent - and so much money to spend in order to replace it?

An injury crisis is a decent place to start. Los Blancos, in truth, probably needed to sign a new centre-back after club captain and veteran back-up Nacho left last summer. In failing to do so, they lost some serious depth at the position. So when the injury bug struck, Ancelotti had no option but to turn to Asencio. The young defender had already been part of the squad during pre-season, and turned in a solid half against AC Milan in a friendly in late July. A cameo against Chelsea also caught the eye.

And then, his moment came. After Militao went down with an ACL injury in the first half of Madrid's La Liga fixture with Osasuna on November 9, Asencio came on, and produced a memorable hour at the back, winning all of his tackles while pinging a wonderful assist for Jude Bellingham to open his goal-scoring account for the campaign.

Since then, Asencio has been a regular. He was solid as Madrid saw off Leganes, winning all three of his aerial duels and moving the ball tidily in a 3-0 win.

A few days later, the result wasn't so kind. Madrid may have been handily swept aside by Liverpool in the Champions League, but Asencio held his own for the most part, keeping his side in the game early on with a remarkable goal-line clearance. It was, in fact, his team-mates Antonio Rudiger and Lucas Vazquez who can be charged with the mistakes that led to the Reds' goals in a 2-0 win.

Ironically, Getafe, just a few days later, was always going to be a bit of a bigger test. Pepe Bordalas' side play an ugly, gritty brand of football, and launched long balls at the Madrid backline. Asencio was more than up to the task, making nine clearances and completing 95 percent of his passes at the back. There are further tests to come, but so far, things look good.

It's too soon to tell exactly what kind of footballer Asencio is. After all, he is just 21, and after what Ancelotti described as a "trial by fire", he is still finding his feet at the highest level.

But the raw gifts are clear. At six foot tall, Asencio isn't massive for a centre-back, but he is a good athlete, which allows him to win plenty of headers. He is also quick, tidy on the ball, and a good enough passer to keep the ball moving in this possession-based Madrid side. His 60-yard ping to Bellingham on debut also suggests that he can hit it long, when needs be.

But perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid to the youngster is that he looks right at home in this team. Rudiger is a star, and Asencio has worked alongside him admirably. It's early days, but a pretty solid partnership is forming in the Spanish capital.

For young defenders, the biggest challenge is pretty much universal, andAsencio simply has to be able to keep up with the pace of the game. He may have been Madrid's best defender against Liverpool, but he did look brutally exposed on the counter on a couple of occasions, and got his body position badly wrong in some one-on-ones.

And although he is tidy on the ball, some of his passing could certainly improve. His completion rate of 84% wasn't overtly convincing against Leganes - though he has certainly improved since. La Liga, in all honesty, won't test Asencio too much, as only the big teams will really attack Madrid. The challenges will come in European competition, with the upcoming Champions League clash against Atalanta standing out as a real trial of his defensive mettle.

Madrid fans are going to love this one... Here we have a Spanish centre-half who is good on the ball, who wins headers at a higher rate than his height might suggest, and is a fine athlete. This reeks of the Barcelona legend Carles Puyol, who made a career off being very good at a lot of things - without being utterly outstanding in one area. And in the early days, that is perhaps all that can be said about Asencio. Put simply, he's good at everything.

There are other touchpoints here. Premier League fans might see a bit of Manuel Akanji in him, and the John Stones comparison is also a decent one - especially given his ability on the ball. But based on physical attributes and, frankly, nationality, there's only one real comparison.

The inevitable national-team courting of a young player emerging at one of its giant clubs has already started. Luis de la Fuente admitted recently that he has his eye on Asencio for a potential Spain call-up. and while that's a credit to the centre-back, it's also unsurprising given De La Fuente's obsession with bringing young talent into La Roja's squad.

Asencio's club future looks good, too. A new contract is reportedly on the table, one that will undoubtedly include a hefty release clause and handsome financial reward for his services thus far. From there, the challenge will be for Asencio to keep his spot in the side going forward. Tchouameni won't be out for forever, and there is a chance that Alaba will return this season.

Asencio, then, will have to prove that he's more than just a handy stopgap. He certainly has the talent to do so.