Golden Eaglets-eligible defender staying at Real Madrid despite Bayer Leverkusen's advances 

Golden Eaglets-eligible defender Melvin Ukpeigbe will remain at Real Madrid for the forthcoming season despite Bayer Leverkusen's interest in his services.

Although Bayer Leverkusen were interested in bringing Ukpeigbe back to their U19 squad, the 17-year-old will remain with Real Madrid, starting the season as a member of the second reserve team, Real Madrid C, according to Relevo. 

The Spanish-Nigerian right-back was loaned out to Bayer Leverkusen for the entirety of last season, with a purchase clause of four million euros included in the deal, which was not activated by the German champions.

Bayer Leverkusen expressed interest in loaning the promising defender again in recent days, but the deal has fallen through. 

Despite an injury that saw him miss seven games in the U17-Bundesliga West, the fullback was able to make nineteen appearances in all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen's youth teams, scoring once and providing two assists. 

Leverkusen youth team coaches believe he has the potential to break into the first team but his chances were limited last season because he was dealing with an injury.

The German Bundesliga outfit were planning to sign him on loan again before deciding whether to trigger the purchase clause at a later date. 

Ukpeigbe has been on the books of Real Madrid since the age of ten after he was snapped up from Rayo Vallecano where he spent two years, 2015-2017.

The Alcalá de Henares native has caps for Spain at U15 and U16 level.

Igho Kingsley 

Photo Credit: bayer04.de

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