It’s a name that we should hear about in the years to come from Real Madrid and Morocco. This season, Youssef Enríquez Lekhedim known as “Yusi” stands out in the youth categories of Real Madrid. At 18 years old, the left-back is one of the strong men in Álvaro Arbeloa’s squad and he has often shone in the Youth League, including two assists against Braga and Union Berlin. Already last season, he stood out by being one of the great architects of his team’s final victory in the league, the Spanish Champions Cup and the Copa del Rey with Real Madrid.
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Considered one of the great talents of Spanish football in his position, Youssef Lekhedim was quick to be secured by Real Madrid who decided to extend him until 2028 last December (he was almost at the end of his contract). An indisputable starter in the Merengues team which he joined at the age of 14 after having notably passed through Getafe, Lekhedim also learned his lessons with the youth categories of Spain. Regularly summoned, he also plays the Euro U17 with Rojita in 2022. But the left back knows that his heart is elsewhere and he decides from the U20 categories to change selection and represent Morocco. And a few days ago, he had the very pleasant surprise of appearing in Walid Regragui’s final list with the A for this break. This is surprising since Lekhedim has never been called up to the Real Madrid pro squad and has therefore never played a single minute professionally. An announcement which was also a little overshadowed by the arrival of Brahim Diaz with the Atlas Lions.
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A very interesting side profile
One more resemblance to Achraf Hakimi. Like him from Getafe, like him Moroccan side of Real Madrid, “Yusi” could experience his first professional match and his first selection at the same time (as the PSG side did). Proof of the confidence the Moroccan federation places in its player who could therefore take advantage of this truce to discover the professional world. A wish also to make him understand that he has a chance to play in a position where Morocco seems to be deprived. And Walid Regragui had explained it recently, now with the objective of CAN 2025, the time has come for a new cycle of which Lekhedim seems to be part.
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And if he seems to be clearly following in the footsteps of Achraf Hakimi, Youssef Enriquez Lekhedim still has a quite different profile. Described as a fairly complete left-back, he stood out above all for his great physical condition and his ability to be a good defender before being a good attacker (even if he often manages to produce statistics). Under the orders of Alvaro Arbeloa with the U19s, who uses his full-backs a lot, Lekhedim has distinguished himself positively by being regularly decisive in the championship. This Tuesday evening against Mauritania, he could play his first professional match. The start of a very beautiful story perhaps for the native of Madrid. And precisely in Madrid, we are following with great interest the evolution of a player who could quickly knock on the door of the pros and leave on loan this summer with the aim of finally moving on to a few months of a CAN 2025 at home in Morocco…
Pub. 03/26/2024 6:01 p.m. Updated 03/26/2024 6:45 p.m.
2024-03-26 17:01:22
#Youssef #Enríquez #Lekhedim #Achraf #Hakimi #Real #Madrid
