Valencia are short of centre-backs and a holding midfielder, so Carlos Corberán has turned to the academy in training as Pepelu continues as an emergency centre-back.
According to Superdeporte, Juvenil A midfielder Aarón Mayol, 18, trained with the first team on Thursday to keep sessions competitive amid injuries to Mouctar Diakhaby and César Tárrega and the non-adaptation of Baptiste Santamaría. The club are also looking for centre-backs of both left and right profiles, and a defensive midfielder.
Mayol, formerly of Levante, joined in May on a contract running to June 2027. Atlético de Madrid had tracked him, but Valencia convinced the youngster as he would not need to relocate.
With centre-backs scarce, Pepelu remains an option at the heart of defence for the Espanyol match. José Copete is being managed carefully due to discomfort and left during the second half of training. Only the Andalusian and Eray Cömert are available for Saturday at 16:15.
Whether the promising Mayol keeps his place around the senior group remains to be seen, at least to help sustain training quality. He has started 11 of 16 Juvenil A games, totalling 1,061 minutes. He stands out for ball recovery and tidy use of the ball in build-up.
