Gonzalo Garcia: Real Madrid's 'new Raul' can save Los Blancos millions and keep Kylian Mbappe fresh - but what will his Club World Cup heroics mean for Endrick's future?

Thibaut Courtois claimed that he knew what Real Madrid's biggest problem was. He'd been out there at Santiago Bernabeu, watching from his own 18-yard box as Madrid toiled through their 5-1 aggregate loss to Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The issue wasn't that Raul Asencio was rash at centre-back, nor that the midfield was mightily unbalanced. It wasn't Rodrygo's quiet night, or Lucas Vazquez's suspect defending. Rather, it was because Madrid were missing a gangly striker in his mid-30s who had left nine months earlier.

"We put in a lot of crosses, but this year we don't have a Joselu, a born striker up there," Courtois said following the 2-1 home defeat to the Gunners in the second leg. "Sometimes you have to be self-critical. I feel that we have to make more team plays and not all individual."

Courtois had a point. Madrid put in cross after cross on the night, but Arsenal dealt with them with some ease, despite missing Gabriel Magalhaes. The fact that the Madrid goalkeeper brought up Joselu - someone who is below the technical levels usually required at the very highest level - ensured the quote go somewhat viral, but his broader point was true: Madrid needed a No.9.

Three months on, and little has changed. Madrid are an expensively assembled football team with more attacking talent than pretty much anyone out there, but they don't really have a big lad to put the ball in the net. In Gonzalo Garcia, however, they might have found the answer.

Garcia, a product of the Madrid academy, has impressed at the Club World Cup while Kylian Mbappe has sat out due to illness, and has scored or assisted in every game during their run to the quarter-finals. That's a small sample size, but perhaps significant enough to keep him in Xabi Alonso's plans, thus save the club a fair few Euros in the process.