Federico Valverde
Federico Valverde was one of the stars of the recent Under 20 World Cup. Getty

KEY POINTS

  • 18-year-old midfielder played 30 games for Los Blancos' second team during the 2016-2017 campaign.
  • The Uruguay midfielder was one of the main stars of the recent Under-20 World Cup played in South Korea.

Real Madrid starlet Federico Santiago Valverde has agreed a loan move to Deportivo La Coruña which will provide him with his first experience in the Spanish top flight during the 2017-2018 campaign, the Galician side have confirmed.

Zinedine Zidane's side recruited the Uruguay Under-20 international from Peñarol in the summer of 2015 after paying around €5m (£4.4m, $5.6m) for his services.

The 18-year-old midfielder continued in his homeland during the 2015-2016 season before moving to Spain last summer to play for the Real Madrid second team.

Valverde impressed under manager Santiago Solari, making 30 appearances in Spain's Second Division B - the third tier of Spanish football - scoring three goals and providing one assist.

However, the Uruguay starlet will have to wait for his breakthrough into the first-team with Real Madrid deciding to send him on loan to Deportivo to give some first-team experience in La Liga during during the upcoming campaign.

"Federico Santiago Valverde Dipetta (Montevideo, 22 July 1998) will defend Dépor's colours in the 2017-2018 season after reaching an agreement today with Real Madrid CF to loan him for a season without an option to buy," Pepe Mel's side have confirmed through an official statement.

"The Uruguayan midfielder played a total of 30 matches for Real Madrid Castilla in Segunda B last season, scoring three goals. The former Peñarol player is an international in all his national side's youth teams, with which he played the last Under-20 World Cup, and where he won the Silver Ball."

The departure of Valverde is the second summer deal at Real Madrid after they previously completed the signing of Vinicius de Oliveira Junior from Flamengo. However, the 16-year-old wonderkid will continue his development in Brazil until the summer of 2019.

Pepe, meanwhile, is also expected to leave the Champions League winners on 1 July as a free agent having failed to reach an agreement to renew his contract.

Furthermore, earlier this week Florentino Perez revealed that Fabio Coentrao was set to join Sporting Clube de Portugal on loan but the clubs are yet to make the deal official.