Real Madrid striker Endrick expected to join Lyon on loan

Real Madrid striker Endrick is poised to join Olympique Lyonnais on loan until the end of the season.

The 19-year-old Brazil international is reportedly expected to start training with the Ligue 1 side on Boxing Day, putting him in the frame for a potential debut against Monaco on Saturday 3 January, which will be the club’s first game following the winter break.

It is hoped the move will provide Endrick with regular playing time, a commodity that has been scarce in the early months of Xabi Alonso’s chequered reign as manager.

How Endrick’s Real Madrid career has evolved

The teenager enjoyed an encouraging start at the Bernabéu following his arrival from the Brazilian Série A side Palmeiras in July of last year, making 37 appearances in his debut season, chiefly from the bench.

Even then it is understood that Endrick, who touched down in the Spanish capital with three goals from 10 appearances for Brazil, felt he could have featured more prominently. With 847 minutes, he was given less playing time than fellow countrymen Vinícius Júnior (1,742 minutes) and Rodrygo (1,428 minutes) were afforded in their debut campaigns at the club.

From the vantage point of today, however, Endrick could be forgiven for looking back at that time as something of a golden period. Since Alonso replaced Carlo Ancelotti in the Madrid dugout this summer, the Brazilian has featured for a total of just 22 minutes in La Liga and the Champions League. 

Even in that very limited time, he has succeeded in making an impression. In last week’s 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League, when he was introduced with 11 minutes remaining, Endrick came within a cross bar’s width of salvaging a draw with a header. But for a player who harbours World Cup aspirations, the need for more regular football is plain. 

The Brazilian’s cause has not been helped by physical setbacks. A hamstring injury sustained in May at Sevilla ruled him out of the following month’s Club World Cup, where academy graduate Gonzalo García emerged as one of the stars of the tournament, while a recurrence of the problem early this season hampered his progress further.

Between those issues and Alonso’s reluctance to grant him playing time despite acknowledging his ability, Endrick has been omitted from the last four Brazil squads, a brutal blow to his World Cup aspirations.

Why Endrick trading Real Madrid for Lyon could be a good move

Joining Lyon, currently fifth in Ligue 1, would therefore seem a good option for the striker, even if it is not a scenario he would have envisaged when he left Brazil last year. Madrid are expected to pay part of his salary and will also reportedly receive a fee if he does not start a specified number of games. 

Given Lyon’s limited attacking options, it seems unlikely that penalty will be invoked. The departure of Georgia international Georges Mikautadze to Villarreal on transfer deadline day has left Lyon manager Paulo Fonseca reliant on Martín Satriano and Rachid Ghezzal in attack. Neither forward appears to have earned the full trust of the Portuguese, who has frequently preferred to start without a bona fide forward.

While Fonseca has refused to be drawn on a move for Endrick – “I can’t comment on players we didn’t sign yet,” he said last month” – it is understood he played an instrumental role in persuading the Brazilian that a move to the Groupama Stadium would be in his best interests.