In recent weeks, Zinedine Zidane has been forced to rethink his defense due to multiple losses in the defensive line of Real Madrid. However, there is one player who seems to be invisible to the Italian coach as he does not count on him. We are talking about Jesús Vallejo, who is not part of the coach’s plans despite the complicated situation.
The Real Madrid defensive woes just keep getting worse. In addition to the long-term injuries to Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao, Rüdiger and Alaba were added to the list last week. With a depleted defense and no signings, they faced the Copa del Rey match and this Saturday’s derby against Atlético de Madrid. Two key matches in which they conceded two penalties due to Carlos Ancelotti’s ‘fixes’ to cover the absences. Lucas Vázquez joined this list on Sunday.
A plague against which Ancelotti has chosen to give prominence to the youth academy or to convert midfielders into central defenders. In recent weeks, the Italian has given an important role to Asencio, and in the absence of central defenders he has opted for players for the back line such as Tchouameni and Valverde. In the Copa del Rey match against Leganés, the man chosen for the center of the defense was academy player Jacobo Ramón. Many are wondering, what about Vallejo? Ancelotti answered this question at the press conference prior to the Champions League match against Manchester City.
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong. He’s training well. But his contract is coming to an end and we prefer to give young players more opportunities”. This was how ‘Carletto’ settled the matter, seeking to put an end to the debate about the Spanish defender’s lack of playing time.
The central defender signed with Real Madrid in 2015 for five million coming from Zaragoza, although that year he remained there on loan. Since his signing he has been on loan at teams such as Frankfurt, Wolves and in recent seasons at Granada, but he has not managed to establish himself at any club. As a Real Madrid player he has played 32 matches.