Jesús Vallejo's Wake-Up Call to Ancelotti Hours Before the Derby, Last Chance

The Madrid Derby is getting closer for Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. In the red-and-white expedition, there seems to be a calm before the storm that is far from what is truly happening inside Santiago Bernabéu. Carlo Ancelotti's doubts about the starting eleven for tonight are noticeable.

Especially due to the defensive absences. The relentless competitive pace of this season, as well as other factors, has affected the physical condition of footballers like Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, and David Alaba. These four key player absences mean that the Reggiolo coach will field an exceptional defense.

Everything indicates that this line of four footballers will be composed of Lucas Vázquez, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Raúl Asencio, and Ferland Mendy. The Italian strategist's insistence on placing the French '14' as a center-back, despite it not being his natural position, has earned him more than one "warning". The booing that Santiago Bernabéu directed at both Tchouaméni and Carlo Ancelotti after the heavy defeat in the Spanish Super Cup seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

The current competitive reality of Santiago Bernabéu locker room, however, doesn't provide security or guarantees to the head coach. Besides the "promotion" of Raúl Asencio to the first team, only Jesús Vallejo is available as a natural center-back. Carlo Ancelotti, however, doesn't fully trust the Aragonese '18' after what happened months ago.

Practically Out

The footballer played eleven minutes in the Real Madrid-Deportivo Alavés match, a game that the white club was winning 3-0. With the Zaragoza defender on the field, the blue-and-white footballers repeatedly put the white team on the ropes and brought the score to a 3-2 final. The bad feelings inherited from that clash at Santiago Bernabéu definitively pointed to Jesús Vallejo, who has since gone unnoticed by the merengue coaching staff.

Eager to regain some prominence with the critical situation of the white defense, the Spanish center-back has sent a clear message: "and we keep training". This post on his social media has a clear recipient: Carlo Ancelotti himself, who would have decided not to count on him despite his presence in the white locker room.

Not even the scarcity of resources in Real Madrid's defensive axis has changed the transalpine coach's point of view. Jesús Vallejo's position in the club is very weak, as he has only a few months left on his contract. At the beginning of the season, after an unsuccessful loan to Granada, he returned to the Spanish capital with the goal of showing his quality and earning a renewal.

He hasn't achieved it. As things stand, it doesn't seem that Carlo Ancelotti will bet on Jesús Vallejo for three matches that could change the course of the current season. The clashes against Atlético de Madrid in LaLiga and Manchester City in the Champions League don't foresee minutes for a footballer sunk in ostracism in his last season as a Madridist.