Julen Lopetegui insists he would have used Vinicius Junior at Real Madrid this season, despite giving the teenager limited opportunities when he was in charge.
The highly-rated Brazilian arrived at Madrid from Flamengo ahead of the 2018-19 campaign and was tipped to help fill the void left by departing great Cristiano Ronaldo.
But Vinicius played just 12 minutes across two substitute appearances in La Liga before Lopetegui was sacked at the end of October, having himself endured a tough start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Editors' Picks
Vinicius has subsequently established himself as a star man, scoring against Real Valladolid and Deportivo Alaves.