Fede Valverde happy to play wherever Zinedine Zidane wants | OneFootball

Young Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde has admitted that he does not mind being a versatile commodity whatsoever as long as he can contribute to his team’s success.

The 21-year-old has featured as a defensive midfielder and a box-to-box midfielder so far this season and has also played out wide during his time with Los Blancos.

“I feel comfortable anywhere in midfield,” Valverde told the Uruguayan press.

“Zidane is playing me as a No.5 or a No.8, I feel comfortable, I’m confident when it comes to playing, hungry to arrive in the [opposition] box.

“He’s asking me to give my best, which I am in training and it helps a lot when a coach gives you this trust.”

Though Valverde is quickly becoming a well-known name in Europe and in Uruguay, he’s doing his best to stay grounded.

“You have to keep your feet on the ground, it serves as motivation to work and continue improving and learning from your teammates,” Valverde said.

“You mustn’t read [the press] to not get ahead of yourself, I try not to read. It’s great that they speak well of you but you have to stay on track.

“I have to follow my teammates, their direction, not let myself fall below anything but being a member of the squad because this brought me another personality, another character on and off the pitch.

“At the start, I was shy and it was hard, it was hard to have a conversation with my teammates.”

Valverde has been handed starts in Real Madrid’s last three LaLiga matches and thanked manager Zinedine Zidane for his continued faith.

“It’s great that a coach like him speaks highly about me, but you have to keep a low profile,” Valverde said.

“He’s asking me to improve my physical condition in order to press, go and return.

“[He also asks me to] try to arrive in the [opposition] penalty area and he always jokes that I shoot at the goalkeeper because I do it in training, but bit by bit I’m going to get used to it.”