Bayer Leverkusen have today announced the signing of 16-year-old Spanish youth international Melvin Ukpeigbe from Real Madrid on a season-long loan with an option to buy.
Ukpeigbe, born in Alcalá de Henares on the outskirts of Madrid, will initially play for Bayer’s U17 team. The Spaniard has represented Spain at U15 and U16 level, playing seven games.
“Melvin Ukpeigbe is an extraordinarily exciting player who promises a lot for the future,” said B04 sporting managing director Simon Rolfes. “We are happy to be able to accompany and support Melvin in his development.”
Ukpeigbe, a right-back, was at Rayo Vallecano before joining Real Madrid’s youth team in 2017.
He’s the second young Spaniard to join Bayer Leverkusen in the matter of a couple of seasons, with Iker Bravo joining Die Werkself on a free transfer from Barcelona in July 2021. The forward struggled to settle and was sent to Real Madrid Castilla on a two-year loan spell last summer.
Bayer Leverkusen arguably have had one of the best transfer windows of any Bundesliga team. Despite losing Moussa Diaby to Aston Villa, Alex Grimaldo joined on a free transfer before they announced the signings of Jonas Hofmann and Granit Xhaka, two experienced players.
B04 then signed Nigerian forward Victor Boniface from Union SG for €20m and also confirmed the signing of Matej Kovar from Manchester United. Bayern Munich’s Josip Stanisic has also joined the club on loan while Arthur joins from America-MG.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
