Either way Valencia CF have to acquire about 30 million euros to balance the books for this year and the easiest target seemed to be Guedes as he hasn't really justified his high price tag, but with his performances improving significantly the past couple of matches, his sale has become more complicated. He's shown that he can be an asset to Valencia CF and overall this season he's been one of the better performing players overall, though he's had his ups and downs like all of the rest of our players.
To make matters even more complicated Wolves has now entered the picture and want to purchase Guedes, their initial plan was about 20 million euros plus Patrick Cutrone, though Valencia CF have recently been interested in Rafa Mir who is also a Wolves player, though realistically I doubt Rafa Mir would want to join Valencia CF as he didn't leave on the best of terms and there are clubs like Sevilla and Atletico Madrid interested in him.
Valencia CF now has a big issue as Goncalo Guedes is playing better and better so he is not the obvious and easy choice to sell anymore, that means Valencia CF have to look into other players to sell in order to meet the financial burden. Jasper Cillessen was another candidate for sale, after all we have Jaume who is a true Valencianista, came through the youth ranks, has been quite good overall, but in the recent games he's played we've seen huge holes in his goalkeeping and now replacing Cillessen doesn't seem as simple as just putting Jaume on goal. Cillessen is the more consistent goalkeeper, the more secure goalkeeper and selling him would mean significant weakening at the back, plus Cillessen isn't likely to net Valencia CF more than 10 million euros, goalkeepers are not valued too much financially, so he is also a bad choice to sell.
That leaves Maximiliano Gomez as the most obvious players to sell for Valencia CF. Maxi Gomez arrived for around 18 million in cash and Jorge Sáenz and Santi Mina going the other way, so overall about a 30-35 million deal depending on how much value was Santi Mina at that time, though between 12-18 million euros. He was seen as a big reinforcement, a striker who would score 15+ goals for Valencia CF, but none of that materialized as Maxi Gomez barely managed to score 10 goals in his first season and is only sitting at 5 goals this season, with the season almost over and Maxi suspended for at least the next two matches, so he is most likely going to finish this season with only 5 goals scored. This makes him the perfect player to sell, he still has decent market value, transfermarkt values him at 25 million euros, though I think that is a bit overvalued, he has had two poor seasons now at Valencia CF, so getting 20 million euros for him would be quite good, but so far no one has shown interest in the player, usually there would have been some sort of rumor, but so far nothing, though its still early and as we get closer to the end of the season we are going to be seeing a lot more chatter and a lot more movement from clubs.
So where does all this leave Valencia CF? Well Maxi Gomez is the most obvious sale, but at best he is going to bring in 20 million euros, I think 25 million is a stretch and not realistic, maybe 20 million euros and a player (who is worth about 5 million), but that won't realistically meet the financial demands, which is where Kang-In Lee comes in. His contract expires next season and he has been unwilling to extend his contract with Valencia CF as he's struggled for playing time this season, so chances are that Valencia CF will have to sell him this summer. Transfermarkt has him valued at 15 million euros, which I think is a fair evaluation, he has huge potential, but hasn't been allowed to prove himself and thus 15 million is the most Valencia CF can get for him. 15 million would actually be quite okay for Valencia CF as it will meet the financial demands and going with the 35 million gained from the sale of Maxi and Kang-In the club can afford a reinforcement valued at 5 million euros.
As of right now I think this would be the best outcome for Valencia CF. Unfortunately we lose Kang-In Lee, but knowing he isn't getting any play time and the season is almost over, it would be best to sell him this summer and get the maximum amount we can for him, as next summer he is going to be free.
Maxi Gomez on the other hand has been a disappointment, we all expected him to be the next big goalscorer, a Villa or Soldado type player, but turned out to be a dud and he still might do well in other clubs who play a different type of football, but not in Valencia CF. He is also one of the highest earners in the club, so Valencia CF is going to save over 4 million euros on his salary per season, and considering his contract runs through 2024 that means Valencia CF will save around 12 million euros just on his salary.