The former Real Madrid goalkeeper opens the door to debate

Santiago Cañizares has reopened the debate over Vinicius Junior's future in the Real Madrid line-up. The former goalkeeper has proposed a tactical solution that could reshape the roles of the front line, with the team's results improving sharply during the Brazilian winger's absence.

Cañizares believes manager José Mourinho faces a genuine test when Vinicius returns to domestic action. Real Madrid have strung together a run of victories and unearthed attacking alternatives that have proven their worth, the Ivorian Yan Diomande chief among them.

Speaking to the newspaper Mundo Deportivo, Cañizares said: "For me, the solution is for Vinicius to play in the role of an out-and-out striker, and to be a substitute for Mbappé."

He added: "Vinicius is a player who cannot be ignored, of course, and Mourinho will not leave him out of his plans. The team can achieve victories with him and Mbappé together, but it will not retain the same identity or the same balance or the same positive atmosphere."

The timing is delicate for Vinicius. He is enduring a difficult patch on a technical level, his goalscoring output has dried up, and the Santiago Bernabéu faithful have turned their criticism on him.

One goal and three assists in 874 minutes across all competitions this season tell their own story: a goal contribution roughly every 219 minutes.

Whether the Brazilian would ever accept a role as permanent substitute is another matter, given he was so recently the team's leading light.

Mourinho has not spared him either. The Portuguese hauled him off early during the clash with Roma in the Champions League after a technical error that helped gift the opposition a goal, and he made little effort to hide his displeasure at some of his conduct on the pitch.

Then came Villarreal. Vinicius was sent off against them on 10 October for pulling the hair of opposition player Nathan Salliva, and the disciplinary committee handed him a four-match La Liga ban: two matches for the incident and two more for his protest against the referee.

Real Madrid appealed, but the appeals committee rejected their request to reduce the punishment on 16 October. That left Vinicius sidelined for the games against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander and Valencia, the Camp Nou Clásico the most glaring absence of the lot.

Diomande exploits the absence and presents his credentials

Yan Diomande, meanwhile, has seized the moment. Handed the chance to feature on the left wing, the Ivorian has produced eye-catching displays that have turned Vinicius' direct return to the starting line-up into a genuine question.

Diomande scored a goal and created another in the 4-1 win over Sevilla, then repeated the trick against Leipzig. He followed that with a strong showing in Real Madrid's 2-1 Clásico victory over Barcelona, before scoring again in the 3-0 win over Racing Santander.

His place in the starting XI held firm against Valencia in a 3-0 victory, confirmation that he is no longer merely a stopgap in the Brazilian star's absence.

The collective numbers only deepen the complication. Real Madrid won all four matches Vinicius missed in La Liga, scoring 12 goals and taking maximum points.

Eight consecutive victories across all competitions have followed, the win over Valencia lifting the tally to 30 points, three behind leaders Barcelona.