Real Madrid's plan for Vinicius

The starlet shone for Brazil U20s against Chile U20s, with a missed penalty the only blot on an otherwise spotless copybook.

His pace and close control allowed him to lay on a goal for fellow Real Madrid youngster Rodrygo in the first clash between the two sides and whilst he was given a rest for the second meeting between the pair he still showed some classy touches in his 30 minutes on the pitch.

With Real Madrid in crisis, it could be the perfect time for the Brazilian to force his way into the first-team reckoning on a more regular basis.

Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema have all been below par in recent weeks, with Vinicius starting to breathe down their necks with some menace.

However, having appeared just twice in LaLiga so far this season, Vinicius has just 12 minutes of game time to his name, something that may be about to change if reports in 'AS' are anything to go by.

The club are said to be considering the option to slowly increase his involvement so as not to throw him in at the deep end too much.

With that in mind, the next round of Copa del Rey games is currently seen as a good oppoertunity to hand him his first start, though Vinicius himself admitted following the Chile game that he is "calm" over his game time at the Santiago Bernabeu for now.