Player Analysis: Nacho Fernández

The past decade has seen Real Madrid dominate European football, winning an unprecedented three Champions League trophies in a row as well as three league titles and two Copa del Rey trophies, but one area in which they have paled in comparison to other major European giants is their youth production rate.

Whilst Real Madrid's famed La Fábrica academy has churned out several top players over the past decade such as Marcos Llorente, Achraf Hakimi and Mario Hermoso, few have gone on to secure a starting spot for Los Blancos. One exception has been Dani Carvajal, who has become a mainstay at right-back since returning from his loan at Bayer Leverkusen and displacing Álvaro Arbeloa from the line-up, whilst Lucas Vázquez has been a valuable option for Zinedine Zidane's side, although he could be headed out this summer with the club struggling to agree on a contract extension.

The longest-serving player from that bunch, which includes Mariano Díaz and Antonio Blanco, is Nacho Fernández. Having arrived at La Fábrica at the age of 11, Nacho made his debut on April 23, 2011, starting at left-back in a 6-3 away win against Valencia. The following week, he started at left-back as Real Madrid's title dreams came crashing down in a 3-2 defeat against Real Zaragoza.

From José Mourinho's first season at the Spanish capital, Nacho is one of four players that remain alongside Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo. Whilst he hasn't quite hit the same legendary heights as the other three players, the Spaniard has continued to play an important role both as a veteran leader in the dressing room as well as a reliable soldier who can slot in across the backline and go blow for blow against some of Europe's best attackers.