The 23/24 season is Fede Valverde’s 6^th consecutive season as a Real Madrid player since rejoining the team in the 18/19 season, and within those 6 years, Fede has cemented himself as a bonafide star, and as one of Real Madrid’s most important players. However, the Uruguayan was the subject of a lot of criticism last season as his form dipped for large parts of the season. While the whole team was dysfunctional for large parts, Valverde’s personal form issues were still very obvious and very damaging to the team. As one of the team’s primary ball winners, and arguably the second-best transition threat after Vinicius Jr., his decline came at a great cost to the team. Fede did have more than understandable reasons behind his drop-off, as him and his wife were going through health issues regarding their unborn son, which thankfully were solved. After the ending of his issues in his personal life, Fede was expected to be back to his usual self this season, and with the team adopting a 4-4-2 diamond this season, Fede was moved back to his natural CM role.

This season so far, Fede has been more than back to himself. In the first 8 league games that he has played, Fede has started 7, and scored once so far. Despite only scoring once, which is not even a bad mark for a CM, Fede has been his usual offensive threat. The threat he possesses from distance always forces defenses to close in on him at all times. Compared to the previous season, when he started as a right-winger most of the time, Fede is averaging nearly exactly the same number of shots p90 (2.0 this season vs 1.9 last), showing that despite player deeper, his goal threat is still very much alive. However, as a result of his improved form and being moved into a central role, Fede is creating more, is more accurate with his passes, and is far more involved in general play.

Last season, Fede was primarily tasked with keeping the width when in possession. He would often position himself on the touchline on the right, and would make constant runs-in-behind to create crossing opportunities. This season, Fede plays more like a natural CM, with his most common areas of operation being in the right-half space. In the diamond, Fede is still tasked with sometimes being the wide player on the right, especially as an overlapping runner on the right, but this comes as an additional role, rather than being his primary role, and he has thrived as a CM. The changing of role and effectiveness is reflected in his stats. His chances created p90 have shot up from 1.6 last season to 2.5 this, he is passing 63 times a game this season, compared to 57 times last season, and his success rate is at 89%, up one percent from last season. Another very important improvement Fede has made has been his progressive passing. Playing in the middle, Fede is now a player who progresses play through his passing, rather than being the target of forward passes up higher in the pitch. This season, Fede has been averaging 17.4 forward passes a game, a huge jump from his average of 11 last season.

Playing in the middle has also made more use of his best traits; his ball winning and energy. By playing as a midfielder, Fede is more engaged in play, especially in duels, and as a result his tackle numbers have reached 1.6 p90, compared to 1.2 last season. His interceptions have also followed suit, reaching 1.6 vs 0.7 last season.

While most of his statistics have gone up, some metrics, especially offensive ones, have taken a slight dip. The only notable drop has been in his take-ons completed, which have gone down to 0.6 p90 from 1.2 last season. This is to be expected, as in the middle of the park there is less space to operate in, and less space to utilize his speed to beat defenders.

Stats can only tell so much, and while they do point to positive improvements, the main gauge with Fede will always be the eye-test. The eye-test so far has been exceedingly positive. Everything that makes Fede, Fede, has been there. His incredible drives from deep, his relentless running and transition defense, his ball carrying to start counter-attacks and his long shots, all have been present, alongside a much more involved role in the team. Fede has put aside all of his doubters, and shown that he is one of the best midfielders in the world again.