Jesus Vallejo chosen by Real Madrid to take Pepe's place

Jesus Vallejo chosen by Real Madrid to take Pepe's place

Jesús Vallejo, en una acción con Aubameyang
Jesús Vallejo, en una acción con Aubameyang  | sport

The centre-back has impressed during a loan spell in Germany

Pepe leaves Madrid after a decade playing for the club at the top level

Real Madrid have their replacement for Pepe. Jesus Vallejo, who the club signed from Real Zaragoza in 2015, will return to the club having spent the last season on loan with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.

In fact, the return of Vallejo has been an open secret throughout the last few months. Talks with Pepe broke down a long time ago and since then Madrid have known that the 20-year-old will come back to take his place. 

The Spain U21 international is 1.83m tall and had a great year in Germany, playing 25 league games and proving that he's ready to make the leap into Madrid's first team squad and work with Zinedine Zidane. 

Vallejo is currently with the Spain side who will take part in this month's U21 European Championships in Poland, after which he will be officially presented as Los Blancos' first 'signing' of the summer for the new season.