The return of Vallejo

The casualties have opened a golden door for Vallejo. Real Madrid will not be able to count on this Saturday or Militao nor with Nacho, both sanctioned for a cycle of warnings after seeing their yellow fifths in Pamplona. The defensive hole widens with the inconvenience of Alaba, which will not take risks before the return of the City. Against this background, the zenith points to a man: Jesus Vallejo. He will start against Espanyol; he will return to a Real Madrid eleven 1,084 days later. His last time was in May 2019, when ‘Covid’ was still a word outside the dictionary. Specifically, on May 12 in San Sebastián, an afternoon that he does not remember with particular fondness, as he saw a direct red card in the 39th minute.

Madrid finished the season third and Vallejo, on loan to Wolverhampton (where he only played seven games). He did not fit in and Madrid broke his loan in December, giving it to Granada until the end of the season. There it did become stronger, being Nasrid what was left of the course and the next. Everything, for this season, already with some recovered morale, return to Madrid. And ostracized. He is the player in the squad who has played the fewest minutes: 14′ in all competitions. It takes less than Lunin (210′). He has played three games, all coming off the bench: he played the last 3 minutes in the ‘little hand’ against Shakhtar Donetsk, played 7′ with everything decided in Los Cármenes and lastly, 4′ in Alcoy.

Tomorrow will therefore be a golden opportunity, as he will be able to not only be a starter, but also do so at the Santiago Bernabéu and the afternoon in which the 35th League party is scheduled. His squire is unknown, although everything points to Mendy or the youth squad Rafa Marín. A trail of circumstances to stop RDT. It will be one of Vallejo’s last dances in white, because this summer he will be looking for a way out, either in the form of a transfer or sale (he has a contract until 2025), to lighten the wage bill and make room for Rüdiger, whose signing is almost closed. This Saturday Vallejo will be a starter with Madrid; it will be two years, 11 months and 18 days later.