Lopetegui gives his backing to Jesus Vallejo Real Madrid Real unlikely to pursue a central defensive signing

Jesus Vallejo struggled at Real Madrid in 2017/18 with the Spaniard often struggling to break into Zinedine Zidane's starting line-up on a regular basis, however he's been given the backing of Julen Lopetegui.

The former Spain coach has been getting to grips with life at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu since he returned from Krasnodar, with the topic of summer reinforcements at the forefront of his mind.

Florentino Perez is likely to push for a number of signings after Zidane famously rallied against a January move for Kepa Arrizabalaga, although Lopetegui believes in Vallejo's talent.

Having worked with Spain's Under-21 team, the 51-year-old is well versed in working with young players and developing them, something which attracted Los Blancos with Vinicius and Rodrygo set to arrive in the future.

Some in Madrid felt that another loan move would be best for Vallejo, but Lopetegui doesn't agree and as a result there is unlikely to be a central defensive signing this summer.

Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Nacho Fernandez will form the rest of his defensive corps for the 2018/19 season and everything indicates that the club are taking Lopetegui's opinions on the squad seriously.