Out-of-favour Real Madrid defender Jesus Vallejo remains intent on staying put at the club this summer despite interest from Espanyol.
According to GOAL, Real Madrid defender Jesus Vallejo does not wish to leave the club this summer despite having fallen out of favour at the Santiago Bernabeu. La Liga side Espanyol are keen on signing the 25-year-old, but he plans on staying put in the Spanish capital.
Vallejo spent his youth career at Real Zaragoza before making the switch to Real Madrid in the summer of 2015. He was immediately loaned back to his boyhood club for a season, following which another temporary stint at Eintracht Frankfurt followed. Having rarely featured for Madrid between 2017 and 2019, he left to join Wolves on loan but returned just six months later after struggling for game-time.
Vallejo spent the second half of the 2019/20 campaign at Granada, where he did fairly well, prompting the club to re-sign him on loan for the 2020/21 campaign as well. The 25-year-old made 50 appearances for the Spanish club across his two loan spells before returning to Real Madrid last summer when Carlo Ancelotti decided to keep him as a backup player.
However, Vallejo hardly saw any game-time under the Italian, who had Eder Militao, David Alaba and Nacho as his preferred centre-backs. As a result, the 25-year-old played just eight games across all competitions during the 2021/22 season. With Real Madrid signing Antonio Rudiger on a free transfer, Vallejo has fallen further down the pecking order.
So, Real Madrid are reportedly open to the prospect of selling him and there seem to be takers for the former Real Zaragoza prospect. There has been interest from Getafe, while Espanyol are also keen on signing the 25-year-old.
The Catalan club have shown a strong interest in wanting to sign Vallejo, although their transfer plans have been hampered by financial issues. Nevertheless, they remain intent on landing the Real Madrid defender this summer.
However, Vallejo does not intend to leave Real Madrid despite being completely out of favour. It is said that Los Blancos are happy with his professionalism and his performances towards the backend of the last season. But the arrival of Rudiger complicates matters, which is why the Spanish and European champions were looking to move him on.
But, Vallejo, whose contract runs until 2025, remains keen on continuing. So, it will be up to Espanyol to convince the defender to end his association with Real Madrid and make the jump to Catalonia this summer.