Valencia adding Hugo Duro

 Following Sobrino's exit yesterday, Valencia look to have added Hugo Duro. This is a player that our fans long joked about signing. Duro has been a meme for us since the famous Copa win over Getafe when he blocked a 92nd minute goalbound shot by his own teammate Jorge Molina, leading to a counter attack where we scored and sealed the late 3-1 win to advance us in the Copa. The excited commentary by Miguel Ángel Román "tocó en Hugo Duro...tocó en Hugo Duro!" spawned viral videos and t-shirts.

Who would have guessed that 2 and a half years later Duro would be a Valencia player under Bordalas?

The deal seems to have come after a day of counter dealings. Mendes had already agreed the loan of Leeds' Helder Costa to us, but Bordalas vetoed it. Bordalas then pushed for and seems to have got Duro instead, despite opposition from the Valencia heirarchy, using our good relations at management level with Getafe. On the one hand, it's good that he can persuade them to approve the players he wants, rather than foisting players (Cutrone...Ferro...) that the coach doesn't want and will never play. On the other hand.... disputes with management over transfers, refusing Mendes options because he wants his own guys. That's a story we've heard before and it did not end well. 

Back to Duro. His stats at first glance look unimpressive: 25 La Liga games, just one goal. Stats which make Sobrino look good. However, drilling into them, there's more to the story. Most of his appearances were as late sub, meaning he's clocked up 858 minutes, equivalent to 9 and a half games. He also played a third of that time as winger. In total, he's scored once and providing 3 assists. He spent last season on a "development loan" at Real Madrid Castilla, where he did play centre forward, scoring a rather more impressive 12 goals in 19 appearances, though that was at third level. He also made 3 late sub appearances for the first team, playing the last 15 minutes against Atalanta in the Champions League round of 16.

Overall, not excited about this, but not annoyed either. He's 21, so has time to develop. It's a loan with an option to buy of 4 million. If he turns out to be useful, we exercise the buy option, if not, nothing lost. I expect him to be a squad player providing back up to people like Guedes, Maxi, Andre and not forgetting Vallejo, who I hope we will see more of. Most importantly, for now, Bordalas has the support and confidence of the board. 

Valencia sign Foulquier

Valencia have confirmed the signing of Dimitri Foulquier, who joins from Granada on a 4-year contract for a fee of 2.5 million, which could rise by another million depending on achievements.

Granada signed Foulquier from Rennes, before selling him to Watford, where he played under Javi Gracia, but he was unable to break into the first team. His first appearance (of only two) was in an 8-0 defeat to Man City where he was subbed off after 33 minutes and he was loaned out, first to Strasbourg and then Getafe where he impressed Bordalas in a brief spell enough for the coach to request his signing for us. 

Foulquier is mainly a right back but has occasionally played at right wing and left back. Truth be told I don't 100% understand the signing, as Thierry has done enough now to convince as a solid prospect. I can only guess this is to add squad depth, as Foulquier is versatile enough and it also frees up Wass to cover central midfield, where Bordalas seems to prefer him, and where we now look unlikely to sign anyone. It's also surprising that we don't seem to have made an effort to move Piccini out.

The window closes tomorrow, the only operation which looks possible is the exit of Diakhaby and his replacement by Djene, but the latter operation would depend on the former and it doesn't look likely at this late stage.

Kang-In Lee leaves Valencia CF

Kang-In Lee leaves Valencia CF and joins Mallorca CF. With the signing of Marcos Andre by Valencia CF the club's 3rd foreign slot was occupied and thus the need to sell Kang-In Lee. Earlier in the summer Valencia CF had accepted that Kang-In Lee might stay as the signing of Marcos Andre was seen as unattainable, but with the La Liga deal with the private investment firm and the fact that VCF was going to receive some 110 million euros, 15% of which for transfers the doors opened for an increased offer from Valencia CF to Valladolid CF and the club was ultimately able to acquire Marcos Andre.

Kang-In Lee had dozen of offers but both the club and played had rejected or ignored all of them, but once Andre was signed the club forced Kang-In Lee to pick one option or be left out of the squad. Ultimately the player and Valencia CF agreed to rescind the contract and this he will leave on a free and join Mallorca.

I mean this is just another example of Peter Lim's terrible management, buy high and sell low or even for free, then whine that the club doesn't have any money and blame the fans for any and all issues in the media! That is Peter Lim for you, an incompetent arrogant fool who doesn't deserve a penny of the wealth he has accrued. I don't know how his incompetence works in retail sales, but its clear that he is utterly incompetent and stupid and it doesn't translate well in managing a football club. 

We could have sold him even for something like 7-8 million euros if the club accepted the early offers or pushed for his sale early, but no they waited in limbo to see what happens and when Marcos Andre finally joined then in reaction they started to act. 

Another wasted talent, another mismanaged sale, another black spot for Valencia CF. 

Valencia CF sign Marcos Andre

Valencia CF and Valladolid reached an agreement for the signing of Marcos Andre. He's been a long standing Valencia CF target and it took almost 3 months for Valencia CF to facilitate his arrival. In order to do so Valencia CF had to overpay his market value by more than double, with reports suggesting that Valencia CF is paying 8.5 million euros for the player, plus 10% of any future sale! 

Marcos Andre has agreed on a 5 years contract with Valencia CF worth 2 million euros per season for a total of 10 million euros for his stay here at Valencia CF. This is on the high side considering he isn't a proficient goalscorer, in fact he only scored 5 goals at Valladolid since 2020 and has not yet proven himself at any serious level. 

At this point I guess any attacker is better than Maxi Gomez, but Valencia CF did indeed overpay for this one. What is done is done though and lets just hope that he scores a lot of goals for Valencia CF. 

Official: Valencia CF sign Omar Alderete

Valencia CF have reached an agreement with Hertha BC for the signing of Paraguayan international Omar Alderete on loan for the 2021/22 season.

The agreement includes an option to buy the 24 year old defender and it looks like its just an optional purchase, not a predetermined one. Basically its the exact deal I reported on two weeks ago.

Now the club turns its focus on selling Mouctar Diakhaby in order to bring in another central defender, probably Jaison Murillo. In the meanwhile the club is going to continue looking for a big sale of either Guedes or Gaya, though the club might abandon that option if they can not get any sort of big money out of those two and go for the sale of Kang-In Lee for some 15-17 million euros as well as sell Cheryshev for few millions as well. 

Valencia get Mamardasvhili on loan

 Valencia have confirmed the addition of goalkeeper Giorgi Mamaradasvhili from Dinamo Tbilisi on a one year loan. He's a bit of an unknown and I haven't been able to find out much on him other than that he's 20 years old and highly rated, but La Liga is obviously a significant jump in quality from the Georgian league, which is ranked 40th out of 55 by UEFA.

It's unclear where he'll fit in, he appears to be too highly rated to spend much time with the reserves but this addition would seem to confirm that we're going to have changes in the goalkeeping department, though as I already wrote, Cillessen's departure is somewhat more complicated by his absence from the Euros. 

If there is one good thing from this, it's that the club are, for once, getting some transfer activity done early, rather than wait until the last minute as is usual. Bordalas can therefore assess him in training. It's also unclear what buy option if any we have on him. I'll update if it is announced.

Jose Bordalas becomes Valencia CF coach

Jose Bordalas is Valencia CF new coach. The club has reached an agreement with Getafe CF and the coach for his arrival at Valencia CF on a two year deal plus an option to extend his contract a 3rd season. The club has also negotiated with Getafe CF for the release of the coach without a fee, but they've demanded a player or the removal of the 30% ownership clause from Maksimovic that VCF have. So far its unclear what the exact agreement is. The most likely option is that Valencia CF will loan a player to Getafe CF for one season with an option to purchase that player at the end of the season. That player is most likely Jason, but could be anyone really. 

In terms of Jose Bordalas and Valencia CF, the coach agreed a 2 year deal with Valencia CF with the option of one more year. 

Not my number one choice, but truth be told the options this season were limited and we would never get a good coach like Rafa Benitez back with Lim at the helm, so its the best of the rest. Best coach from the bottom half, half glass full type of deal. Now we have no choice but to stand by the choice and support him for the good for the club. He is definitely not a bad coach, he is defensively sound and plays a rigid type of game. If he can continue with the Voro fix in defense and have the team solid defensively we can maybe win games on the counter through Guedes, Yunus, Soler, etc... I'm expecting Kang-In Lee to leave BTW, because the chances of extending his contract are slim. If we do keep him for one more season and he gets a good amount of playing time, he might reconsider, but that is a very long shot.

Official: Valencia sign Christian Oliva on loan

Valencia completed their 4th transfer signings of the window by signing Cagliari midfielder Christina Oliva on loan. Unlike the signings of Cutrone and Ferro, this deal includes a non-binding purchase option.

Rumors are they could still be one more signing, depending on if an outlet can be found for one more player (either Mangala or Jason Remeseiro). It is said to be difficult though as the players are not looking to leave.

Valencia sign Ferro on loan, Sobrino leaves

Like buses, nothing for a while and then two at once. Valencia's second signing, loan of course, is Ferro from Benfica, who joins until the end of the season with the option to prolong the loan by another year. 

I've mentioned that I;ve seen Cutrone and don't expect much from him: unwanted at Milan, Wolves and Fiorentina, but I think this guy has better potential. He played most of the games for Benfica last season, including 4 of the Champions league group games, so he has reasonable experience and with the injury to Diakhaby, Mangala forever injured, Paulista injury prone and Guillamon a diamond in the rough, it will help to have an extra option in defence.

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A defensive midfielder, Oliva from Cagliari is said to be the third and final addition. At least we've seen some moves this window.

Balancing these additions is one exit. Ruben Sobrino joins Cadiz until the end of the season. Sobrino joined us exactly two years ago today from Alaves for the head scratching sum of 5 million. It always looked like a panic buy to pay so much for a guy who had managed just 6 goals in 48 league games there. He did have a false dawn at the club, having an amazing debut at Celtic in the Europa league scoring and providing an assist in a 2-0 win, but that would be the only goal of the season. That remained the pattern: a solitary goal, a valuable one, to earn a late draw against Sevilla last season and then a goal at Yeclano in the cup this year. He's clearly surplus to requirements and Cutrone is an upgrade on him at least.

Official: Valencia sign Patrick Cutrone on loan

Valencia have officially announced the signing of Patrick Cutrone on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers FC until the end of 20/21 season. The deal is a pure loan, meaning there will be no purchase option. This Valencia's second signing of the transfer window with Piccini returning to the club last week.

Official: Cristiano Piccini returns from loan

 Valencia have made it official through their website and social media that they have reached an agreement with Atalanta to cut-short the loan of Piccini and have him return to Valencia. Piccini was set to stay for 1-year with the Italian club with a possible 3 million euro purchase option but they have barely used him in their games. With the player desperate to return and Valencia looking for low-cost reinforcements, the transfer was complete.

Official: Kondogbia sold to Atletico Madrid

Valencia and Atletico Madrid have confirmed the transfer of Kondogbia to Atletico Madrid today. Kondogbia has already passed the medical joined up with his new team.

The player signs for 4 years with a reported fee of 15 million euros with Valencia reserving around 15% of a future sale of the player. For reference, Kondogbia arrived at Valencia in the 2018-19 season from Inter Milan for a fee of 22 million euros, having spent the prior season on loan at Valencia.

When Inter Milan made the sale, 20% rights to future sale of the player were included in the agreement. In this case, however, they would get nothing due to the condition on the previous clause. It only applies if the sale amount is a number greater than 25 million euros.

This signing came about after Arsenal activated Thomas Parey's release clause in the last moments of the transfer market and signed him from Atletico Madrid. To accommodate such late transfers, Atletico were allowed to make a signing despite the closing of the transfer window to everyone else. Kondogbia was interested either for the pay increase or the loss of hope in this project. Either way, he pushed for a way out and has missed the last few training sessions and fixtures with Valencia. His Instagram dig at Anil Murthy signaled the beginning of the end. 

So comes the end of the player's time at Valencia. He has been an instrumental part of the Valencia team with his great work rate and controlling presence in midfield. He was also part of the the team that won the Copa del Rey in 2018, Valencia's most recent trophy in their cabinet. 

Thank you to Kondogiba and best wishes with his new club as well as any future endeavors.

Transfer Market Closes: Disaster for Valencia

The transfer market has officially closed and it can only be summed up as an absolute failure for Valencia.

Upon Javi Gracia's signing for the club, he was made aware of the plans to cut down on expenses which meant finding other destinations for players with significant salaries, as well as those whose sales can fetch a good price. He was also promised that this was a necessary action but (cheaper) signings will be made to fill the gap and reinforce the squad. Javi Gracia evaluated the team and thought he needed around 5 signings, 3 certain - a central defender, a central defensive midfielder and a right-back, and 2 conditional - a goalkeeper (if Cillissen leaves) and a forward (if Gameiro leaves). 

Murthy had made public that there was a lack of liquidity at the club and that sales had to made to balance the budget, especially with COVID's impact on ticket sales and revenue. What was also made public was a "blacklist" of players that Valencia was willing to offload in the transfer market. With these two pieces of news, other clubs knew it was a bargain sale at Valencia.

Garay had already left as the club didn't renew his contract in the previous season. Ferran left to Manchester City for 25 million euros plus bonuses. Parejo went to Villareal free of charge while Coquelin followed to the same destination for 12 million euros. Rodrigo would return to the Premier League with Leeds for a 30 million euro fee. These were core players for the team in previous season. Additionally, Jaume Costa returned to Villareal, Piccini was loaned to Atalanta and Florenzi wasn't renewed. 

Arriving to Valencia were players returning from there loans like Racic, Jason Remeseiro, and Toni Lato. To cope with the shortage of players, Javi Gracia gave Guillamon, Yunus Musah, Alex Blanco and Esquerdo game time with the first team. 

After three weeks in charge and slightly before the first game of the season against Levante, Gracia made his thoughts clear in the press conference that he was losing confidence in the managements ability to deliver quality signings, if any. This drew some anger from Anil Murthy who reportedly stormed out of a meeting between the two of them. The communication between the two, at least with regards to transfers, stopped completely after that. Javi Gracia took the word of the management and refused to comment further in press conferences.

 A few rounds into the new season and the weaknesses as well as the lack of depth in the squad become evident. Even in games that the team would walk away with a positive result, the team looked vulnerable. 

Recently, even the Mestalla B team had transfers out of the club. Javi Jimenez was loaned at the beginning of the window to Albacete. This last week Alex Carbonell was let go on a free transfer to FC Luzern with percentage reserved on future sales. Alex Centelles, free transfer, to Almeria also with a percentage reserved on future sale. It looks likely that Esquerdo will also be on the way out, with Almeria the most likely destination.

A lot of fans figured that, similar to previous years, transfers would likely come at the very last few days of the window. They watched as the club failed to secure player after player with which they have been linked. 

Now that the transfer market has closed, Javi Gracia got nothing. He was lied to, left in the cold, abandoned, betrayed, deceived. It seemed like he as figured as much from his demeanor.

Now, Plazadeportiva reports that Gracia has requested a meeting with Murthy and is seriously considering resignation. Previous coach Prandelli had the patience to wait 3 months for the club to get its act together, Gracia is fed up already.

Official: Cristiano Piccini loaned to Atalanta

 The club has confirmed today through its website and social media accounts, the departure of Cristiano Piccini to Atalanta. 

The agreement between the clubs is a one-year loan with a purchase option at the end of it. The fee is reported to be around 3 million euros. Piccini arrived two seasons ago from Portuguese club Sporting CP for 8 million euros.

For many fans, the signing of Piccini did not accomplish it's intended goals. He was supposed to take over the right-back role thus addressing a previously vulnerable position for the team. However, his time in Valencia has seen him playing while struggling with injury, absent due to long-term injury or playing after a long period through recovery from injury. His injury has lead to Wass having a prominent role as right-back as well as the signing of Correia later on. With those two available and with Piccini being injury-prone, many would have wanted the club to push for an exit. He did play in parts of the pre-season games with Javi Gracia so there was some indication he could stay but it just wasn't to be. It remains to be seen whether a signing will be made in right-back or if Wass and Correia will be in charge of that position this season.

Piccini has sent a farewell letter to the fans in which he expressed appreciation for all the support, thanked his teammates and coaches, reveled in the Cup victory and provided some words of encouragement moving forward. Good luck to Piccini with his new team!

Rodrigo Moreno leaves

 It seems to be confirmed that Rodrigo has officially left the club, signing for Leeds United, for a reported 30m plus a potential 10m more in objectives.

Rodrigo was always a divisive player. Signed for 30m in 2014 as part of Meriton's first season splurge, in his early years he was the poster child for Meriton's excesses and unhealthy association with Jorge Mendes' clients.

Usually played on the left of a 4-3-3, his goal rate was hugely disappointing. His first goal for the club came from the penalty spot at Getafe in late September. It would be 4 months before he scored again, his first from open play highlighting what he can do: intercepting near the halfway line, dribbling to the edge of the area and scoring from outside the box. In total he managed 4 goals in his first season, 7 in his second. The departure of Alcacer and Negredo in 2016 saw him moved more central and, somewhat unnoticed at the time, his rate picked up: 7 goals in 21 games before getting injured.

It took the arrival of Marcelino to boost him, with 19 goals that season in a 4-4-2 with Zaza, followed by 15 the following season. The latter included his only hat-trick for the club in the memorable comeback versus Getafe. At the end of the game he clashed with Getafe players and mocked them in revenge for similar gestures. He went on to score the winning goal in the cup final.

Last season he reverted to disappointing goal numbers: 7 in 34 games, though his assists record remained good. He also scored two crucial goals in the Champions league: the winners at Chelsea and Ajax.

Ultimately, as usual, I'm a little disappointed with the transfer figure. I know he's 29, but he is a Spain international and therefore I would have hoped for 40m at least. The big question is how the club will replace his link-up play between midfield and attack. Soler? Kang-In? Guedes? New signing?

Lastly, this is another sign for me of the decline of La Liga, something the league's overseers only have themselves to blame for as they concentrated too much money into two super-clubs (one of which is in clear decline.) It's hard to imagine newly promoted Cadiz signing an England international forward, yet the equivalent has happened. 

In previous transfer windows we seemed to leave things very late, even when we had cash to spare. We're now doing the same, as there are just two weeks until the return of La Liga, but from an even weaker position. Maybe the Rodrigo money can finally get things moving? Cillessen is said to be next out the door.

Anyway, good luck to Rodrigo with his new club

Official: Javi Jimenez loaned to Albacete Balompié

The exit operations for Valencia continue with the announcement that Mestalla B defender Javi Jimenez has been loaned to Albacete Balompié for the duration of the 2020-21 season.

Despite having recently renewed his contract with Valencia until 2022, Javi Jimenez was not part of the 31 players summoned by Javi Gracia for the preseason. It seems like he wasn't even given a chance with the new coach. Seeking to get some minutes under his belt, a loan deal was established with Segunda division team Albacete Balompié. Other offers included teams like Castellon and Lugo. 

Official: Dani Parejo signs for Villareal

 Villareal and Valencia have both officially announced the transfer of Dani Parejo to Villareal. This is the second transfer in a row to Villareal with Coquelin's signing announced earlier.

Parejo's contract with Valencia has been rescinded and as such goes to Villareal on a free transfer. The deal will see him play for Villareal for the next three years.

Parejo has been a player that has often divided fans during his 9 years at Valencia. Many point to his contribution from midfield in build-up play as well as goals, scoring 65 goals in 381 games. Commentators and pundits often refer to him as the key player or main man at Valencia before any European games. He helped guide Valencia to their their first trophy in over a decade, with the Copa del Rey victory last season. He also earned himself a short spell with the Spanish National team as a result of his performances.

On the other side, many talk about his inconsistency when discussing his negatives. This has certainly become more prevalent towards the latter half of his time at Valencia. With recent drops in Valencia performance, he would get his fair share of the blame for being nonchalant, slowing down play too much or, even more recently, for squad conflict. His loyalty to the previous coach, Marcelino, has been a big part of that conflict since he made it clear that he disagreed with the decision to sack him. 

A free transfer is outrageous by any stretch of the imagination, especially for a player with 2 years left on his contract, the captain of the club, a central piece in the team and someone who is a capped Spanish International player. 

Regardless of which opinion people hold, his positive contributions to the team are undeniable. At his best, he provided much needed control and level-headedness in midfield. He also deserves a lot of credit for persevering with the club all this time even under constant criticism and blame. He could've left much earlier with offers from Sevilla and Atletico Madrid being reported but ultimately stayed to help the team.

Good luck to Parejo on this new chapter of his career and beyond!

Ferran Torres joins Man City

Well, the news was made official 1 hour ago. The first departure of what could be a long and depressing transfer window. 

Ferran Torres has joined Manchester City. Few eyebrows will be raised at that, as it's only been a matter of time, however the transfer fee for one of the club's biggest talents in years is gutting: 23 million euros, with a paltry 5 million more possible in bonuses. With a year left on his contract and him refusing to negotiate, the club had very little wiggle room. Hopes of a bidding war didn't materialise, with only Manchester City in for him in the end. 

For that pittance, I'd almost have been tempted to keep him and just let him go for free next summer, there's very little we'd be able to buy with 23 million.

Guillamon renews until 2023

Finally, after the doom and gloom of late, we have some very good news, first mentioned in the comments by our contributor Kuku.

Hugo Guillamon has signed a 3-year contract extension, until 30 June 2023.

His release clause is set at 80 million euros. Guillamon, of course, broke into the first team after the restart in a position where Valencia were badly in need of players with Garay leaving and Mangala and Diakhaby proving error-prone. It's a much needed boost to the back line, as he was out of contract and Villarreal were reported to be interested.

Meanwhile, the search for the new coach rumbles on. After the resignation of the previous sporting director, chief scout Miguel Angel Corona is now taking a more prominent role. A rumour on Twitter (here) is that he has proposed the options of Bordalas and Javi Gracia to Lim, with Ruben Baraja as a plan C. Mendes, in contrast, has proposed the options of Laurent Blanc and Leonardo Jardim. Of those, I'd probably go for Jardim, as he has good international experience, has worked well with young players and generally favours a more attacking style.

However, the way of doing it just shows the problems with the club. Why is Lim taking such a prominent role at all? Has he consistently demonstrated his footballing acumen? Obviously not. On the contrary, it seems that what he knows about football management could be written on the back of a postage stamp. In other clubs there would be a competent sporting director who makes this choice and then the owner simply rubber stamps it. Of course, Valencia being Valencia, we don't even have a sporting director. The involvement of Mendes is also worrisome. While Jardim interests me, there would be the suspicion that he would just be Mendes' inside man, so that Mendes could use the club as a shop window for his prospects, most of whom seem to come from his c-list rather than his top table. It is expected that the new manager will be appointed by next week, possibly Monday, as the club will return to training on 10 August.

Official: Valencia CF loan Alessandro Florenzi from AS Roma

Valencia have officially announced the loan of Alessandro Florenzi from AS Roma. This is Valencia's first arrival in the winter transfer market which closes tomorrow (January 31st).

The loan deal does not include a purchase option as was the case with loan deals in recent times for Valencia. The player will return to AS Roma at the end of the season (June 30th, 2020).

This signing leaves Valencia with 4 right-backs in the team - Florenzi, Correia, Piccini and Wass. Piccini is currently in the last phase of recovering from his long term injury and should be back one or two weeks into February. Wass provided versatility and adapted from his midfield role into the right-back role as a response to that injury and the lack of an alternative. Correia was signed to ease and grow into this role and eventually take over in the future but has so far not impressed.

Moving forward, it is expected that Florenzi will be the main starter for this role, at least until Piccini returns and Celades can evaluate them both to meet the needs of the team. Celades has not had the opportunity to work with Piccini prior to this due to the injury. Some will points out that Piccini did not perform before his injury but it remains to be seen if the new coach can get something out of him. This also means that Wass will hardly feature as right-back once Piccini returns. Instead, he will probably return to the midfield role as a replacement for Parejo. As for Correia, it was reported that the club has been actively seeking to find an outlet for him and has assigned Mendes to the case but they are having difficulty finding any demand, which is quite concerning quite frankly.

Florenzi has already started training with the team but will likely not be ready to play this Saturday's La Liga fixture against Celta Vigo.