The Real Champs
Fansided

Real Madrid: 3 loan deals which have been disappointing so far

By Sai Siddhartha S

Tottenham Hotspur's Welsh striker Gareth Bale gestures during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on December 20, 2020. (Photo by Julian Finney / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by JULIAN FINNEY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Tottenham Hotspur's Welsh striker Gareth Bale gestures during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on December 20, 2020. (Photo by Julian Finney / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by JULIAN FINNEY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Jesus Vallejo
Jesus Vallejo (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images) /

2.Jesus Vallejo – Granada

In 2017/18, a young Jesus Vallejo returned to Real Madrid after a highly successive loan stint at Eintracht Frankfurt and took the no.3 jersey vacated by the legendary Pepe. He generated a lot of hype with his arrival, and above all, he was trusted by Zinedine Zidane. But injuries ruined it for him in his first season. Though he got chances here and there, including a UCL quarter-final against Juventus, the discontinuity caused due to injuries hurt his progress.

Even in 2018/19, the same physical issues continued for him, and with Eder Militao’s arrival in the summer of 2019, he left for Wolves on loan. But he had a terrible time with the PL side, as he got just 81 minutes in the league in the first half of the season despite maintaining his fitness. The loan deal got terminated eventually, and he was sent on loan to Granada, where he started getting regular minutes, and his redemption began. He had a great end to the 2019/20 season, with his team qualifying for the Europa League as well.

The club and Vallejo agreed to extend the loan deal by another year, as he wouldn’t have got minutes at Madrid, and he didn’t want to be sold by Real Madrid. People expected him to continue doing well, but things did not go according to the plan.
Though he has been getting minutes regularly, his performance has been relatively poor this season. He has been employed at different positions including that of a Center back, Right back and Defensive midfield, but he has been inconsistent with his performance, and there are no signs of improvement.

Two of the major issues in his gameplay are passing. According to Whoscored, he has a passing accuracy of just 73.1% in LaLiga. A club like Madrid who often build from the back would love to have a ball playing Center back, and if he continues like this, his chances of making it to Madrid (which are already low) will decrease further. He’s also looking low on confidence and is committing few basic errors these days. He made an error that led to Casemiro’s goal in the game against his parent club – a match which could’ve been his opportunity to impress the manager. He needs to regain his confidence and recover soon to return to his best.

Though Real Madrid made a good move by sending Vallejo to Granada again, this loan deal has been a disappointment so far, only due to Vallejo underperforming. He hasn’t convinced the club that he can be a Real Madrid player, with his performances. Unless there’s a massive turn-around in his season, Vallejo would be most probably sold.

Home/Analysis