Pepe’s future is still in the air. Zinedine Zidane said that he wants to have the Portuguese full back in their team and, actually, it’s very likely that Pepe plays tonight at San Paolo. The former Porto defender is now recovered from his injury and his experience makes him a great choice for the game in Naples.
However, Real Madrid are still looking into the market to find a good replacement for Pepe. Jesús Vallejo, currently playing for Eintracht Frankfurt, would be the first option because he’s owned by Los Blancos and he’s shining in the Bundesliga. But there are more options in the market.
The Portuguese newspaper ‘O Jogo’ published in the front page that Los Blancos are very interested in the Porto full back Felipe Monteiro. He arrived this summer from Corinthians and he’s always in Nuno Espíritu Santo line-ups. Actually, he’s also one of the main reasons for the great defensive skills shown by Porto this season.
Felipe Monteiro is currently 27 years old and he was born in Brazil. After playing four years in Corinthians, Porto paid around €6.2M for the transfer fee. Since his arrival, Monteiro has played in the starting eleven, scoring also two goals in Primeira Liga. He was able to win Copa Libertadores in 2012 with Corinthians and also the FIFA Club World Cup, beating Chelsea in the final.
His current contract with Porto expires in 2021, so Real Madrid would have to negotiate with Pinto da Costa. It’s always tough to buy players from Porto but Florentino Pérez has experience with this. The last player bought from Porto was Danilo, but the signing is being a failure, like the right back continues to show in every game he’s able to play. Pepe or Casemiro have also played with Porto and after for Los Blancos.