Two months ago, Javier Hernandez arrived in Real Madrid on a one-year long loan deal from Manchester United. Little by little the Mexican has proven to be a good long-term option for Carlo Ancelotti.
Hernandez has made seven appearances with Los Blancos so far: four in La Liga, two in the Champions League and one in a Copa del Rey fixture.
With Manchester United, Chicharito wasn’t an undisputed starter and he finds himself in an identical situation here at his new club. However, he has scored four goals and made one assist in 307 minutes played. On average, he scores a goal every 76.5 minutes.
Hernandez has spent time on the bench on six occasions so far—four times in La Liga and twice in the Champions League. He has come on as a sub four times and has started three games and has been a brilliant replacement option for Karim Benzema. T
he Frenchman is Ancelotti’s first choice front man, but he needed to find someone who could step onto the pitch with a good mentality and that will be lethal inside the box.
In the 2013/14 season, Benzema was subbed off 35 times. Alvaro Morata replaced him 16 times, Jese five times , Isco four times and the rest of them were a mix of players, such as Raphael Varane, Angel Di Maria and Gareth Bale.
Morata scored nine times last season, five of these goals came when he replaced the Frenchman. But how does he compare to the new man Hernandez. Well, according to Squawka, Morata scored seven of his eight La Liga goals with his right foot with 69% shot accuracy, and his passing matched this as in 23 games he managed another 69% accuracy rating. Squawka reports that so far, the Mexican has an average pass accuracy of 83% as well as a 60% shot accuracy.
Hernandez proved to be a fox in the box during his four seasons with Manchester United, but what has been refreshing with Los Blancos is watching him shoot from outside the box and actually scoring.
He opens spaces with his movement between lines, while his speed and elusiveness has helped the team, too.
It’s important that Chicharito keeps taking advantage of the opportunities he has received from the coach, especially since Jese hasn’t reappeared after last season’s knee injury; according to Marca‘s Hugo Cerezo, the Spanish attacker will be back on the pitch this November. Aside from his knack for goal scoring, the Mexican’s work ethic is another invaluable asset.
During a UEFA Coaching conference, former Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledged, per Goal.com: “He will score many goals, for sure. He’s very focused mentally and his wish was always to play in Madrid. He will come good there.”
Hernandez needed confidence, which he has received from Ancelotti, but also from Mexico coach Miguel Herrera and this seems to be benefiting him on the pitch as he has already had a part to play in 5 Real Madrid goals this season.
Despite his lack of playing time, he appeared in this year’s World Cup and scored with El Tri, marking his first successful strike in a year and he has never let any of his coaches down. He scored with Ferguson, David Moyes, Jose Manuel de la Torre (Mexico) and Herrera on a regular basis.
Chicharito is back on track and with Real Madrid’s busy schedule, the coach needs players who commit and change games, no matter the competition.
Money-wise? Anthony Chapman from the Express assures Los Blancos are ready to offer £12 million to complete Hernandez’s permanent move.
