Real Madrid looks to have secured the signature of talented Boca Juniors midfielder Fernando Gago. Far from being “the next Maradona,” a monikor that’s too often attached to Argentina’s countless midfield exports, pundits are equating this signing with another former Real Madrid Argentine: Fernando Redondo. Gago resembles Redondo in both his physical features and his style of play. Like Redondo, he is a central midfielder who likes to sit deep, opening up play with incisive passing, but he’s also a very capable defender, a trait often lacking in central playmakers. This season, Gago, 20, has played every game for Boca where he’s been fit to start, and he will likely fill in the No. 5 slot in Alfio Basile’s Argentina midfield at this summer’s Copa America. Basile was a big fan of the youngster during his time as coach of Boca, giving him his debut last year. Some critics wonder where the youngster will fit in to Real’s already crowded central midfield. After all, Los Merengues currently have Mahamadou Diarra, Emerson and Guti, although the latter two won’t last forever. Jorge Valdano, a former executive at Real, warns that the move could be detrimental to Gago’s development. “Gago will join Madrid, won’t play, and his evolution will be delayed because the only way to progress is competing, not watching matches from the subs bench,” he says. “The list of players who failed arriving aged 20 at a big club is so long that it’s best to discuss the only exception: Kaka.”