Lopetegui wants me to stay at Madrid, says Borja Mayoral

On-loan Levante striker Borja Mayoral reveals that Julen Lopetegui wants him to remain at Real Madrid in the long-term.

The 21-year-old Spaniard was loaned out to Levante in the summer, missing out on a place in Madrid’s starting line-up for the second consecutive campaign.

It seems that Mayoral became surplus to requirements after Mariano Diaz signed from Olympique Lyonnais, at least that’s what Mayoral thinks.

“It all happened very quickly, and I believe I would still be at Real Madrid had Mariano not been signed,” Mayoral is cited as saying by Marca (via Football Espana).

“Julen Lopetegui told me he wanted me to stay at the club a fortnight before that but I understand how the transfer window lasts so long and a lot can change.

Mayoral claims that he could have headed to various clubs in the summer, but he elected to ply his trade in Valencia with Levante due to their style of play.

H added: “There were opportunities to join Sevilla and Alaves but I opted to go to Levante because of the manner in which they play and how they started the campaign.

“They had shown interest in me throughout the summer and whilst there were no opportunities at Madrid, this was my best option.”

Real Madrid wrapped up a busy transfer window at the end of August. The departure of manager Zinedine Zidane, coupled with losing their most prized asset in Cristiano Ronaldo, must have inspired panic in Los Blancos’ boardroom which sanctioned a thriftless spending spree in the aftermath.

Madrid wrote several big cheques on new arrivals which accumulated to over £131m come deadline day. Vincius Junior was their biggest buy at £40.5m, joining the club in the summer after Real agreed terms with Flamengo last year.

The Brazilian left winger has the unquestionably daunting task of compensating for CR7’s Italian dalliance, while Thibaut Courtois looks set to replace Keylor Navas in goal.

Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Athletico Bilbao on Saturday. They play Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday.

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