Juan Bernat loan out, Javi Fuego in?

Javi Fuego, Rayo Vallecano

Juan Bernat will most likely be send on loan this winter transfer season. Valencia CF coach Mauricio Pellegrino announced in the summer that he would seriously count on Juna Bernat and he would be important to the team, but it was just words as Juan Bernat has barely featured in Valencia CF in now 3 months.

Valencia CF sporting director Braulio is considering loaning out Juan Bernat to Rayo Vallecano and possibly making a deal for Javi Fuego to come to Valencia CF. He is hoping such a deal for be acceptable for Rayo Vallecano, though Rayo president Felipe Miñambres denied such a possibility.

Either way its pretty much set that Bernat will be send on loan, if not in Rayo Vallecano than somewhere else and apart from Javi Fuego Valencia CF are also looking at other players for the defensive midfielder position as well as other positions like right wing and central defenders.

Mario Alvarado deal turning out too good to be true

So it seems someone leaked the supposed deal Mario Alvarado was doing with Bankia and his proposal was to buy 220 million euros of the debt owned by Bankia, but was itself based on a loan deal done with HSBC bank.

This just confirms many people's suspicions that he doesn't have any capital and this whole operation is based on more debt and more fake promises. He proposed a 3 phase deal and the first one was the purchase of the debt of up to 220 million and then have additional investments.

Problem with this is that there is no capital, there is no real money, its all based on further debt which Valencia CF has too much of. In fact the problems right now are too much debt and the inability to liquidate debt and start fresh, which is the only way to get growth again, it doesn't take a rocket scientists to get to understand that.

So I'd say this deal is likely to be rejected and is not going to go through. We even had reports that Llorente is in Dubai and other Asian countries searching for investors.

We'll see what happens, but I'm calling this early based on these new information that the deal will not go through, because there is no deal as there is no capital and/or money, its just more debt that if surprisingly done would just move the ball to another court.

Mario Alvarado plans to buy Valencia CF

Costa Rican energy and mining magnate Mario Alvarado has been making the news lately with his public offer to purchase Valencia CF. In fact after he announced his plan to purchase Valencia CF on a radio network, he went on to meet with Valencia's officials and discuss such a possibility.

Valencia CF debt is currently at 370 million euros, down from the 550 million euros dept it had 4 years ago. After coming in current Valencia CF president stabilized the ship and with the sales of David Villa, David Silva, Juan Mata and others was able to reduce the debt by over 150 million euros.

Our intention is firm, with the aim of being able to resolve the club's economic situation and thus give it financial stability for the coming decades," Alvarado Orozco said in a statement.

We have been preparing the offer for months and with absolute discretion and professionalism so as not to put the viability of the operation in jeopardy."

Our intention is firm, and our desire is to straighten out the club's economic situation and thereby provide it with financial stability for the coming decades", Alvarado's statement reads.

Alvarado plans to invest 500 million euros in Valencia CF, this would mean wiping out the 370 million debt and continuing construction on the Nou Mestalla. He also said he would likely keep Manuel Llorente as president to keep things running smoothly and won't be making any big changes.

He met with the City's deputy Mayor Alfonso Grau, as well as representatives on Bankia who are the owners of the club, since they own all the debt.

Valencia CF after Eljero Elia

Sport Valenciano is reporting that Valencia CF is interested in Werder Bremen winger Eljero Elia and has already acquired to his agent about his availability. This players arrived to Werder this summer, but reports have it that he isn't happy there and is looking for a way out.

Valencia CF are supposedly willing to pay as much as 5 million euros for the player as they see him as the perfect replacement for Sofiane Feghouli, who is likely to leave in the summer transfer window for huge money, as PSG is very interested in Feghouli. Also Feghouli will leave Valencia CF to play in the African cup of nations with Algeria, so he will miss at least 1 month, possibly more.

Valencia CF was interested in the player last year as well and there were reports in the summer that Valencia  CF will purchase Eljero Elia, but that didn't materialize.

Malaga CF vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Malaga CF vs Valencia CF Match Peview

Stadium: La Rosaleda

Date: 24.11.2012; 20:00 CET

13th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Manuel Pellegrini and Mauricio Pellegrino

Malaga CF

Malaga CF started the new 2012/13 season in great fashion winning 3 of the 5 match at the start and drawing the two, before suffering their first defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid. They bounced back after that loss and went to to win their next league match as well as the match against AC Milan at home,before  traveling to Milan and earning a draw, thus qualifying for the next phase in the Champions League.

Since then though they haven't been doing as well, especially if we look at the Spanish League. In fact Malaga CF haven't won a single match in their last 4 games and have only earned 5 points out of possible 15 in their last 5 matches. It seems that the full schedule has caught up to Malaga CF and their squad's lack of depth is proving to be trouble.

That said Malaga CF coach Pellegrino has been resting few of the crucial members in the last Champions League match like Portillo, Joaquin and Isco so they are fresh for tonight's match against Valencia CF. Pellegrino has favored the 4-2-3-1 system with Malaga CF with Eliseu and Joaquin on the wings, Isco just behind the striker and usually Saviola as the sole striker and that has given them good results, though he has changed up the formation at times when facing tougher opposition.

Malaga CF squad: Kameni, Jesús Gámez, Weligton, Demichelis, Camacho, Joaquín, Toulalan, Saviola, Seba, Willy, Iturra, Duda, Eliseu, Portillo, Buonanotte, Isco, Onyewu and Santa Cruz.

Technical Details Malaga CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Kameni; Jesus, Demichelis, Weligton, Eliseu; Toulan, Camacho; Joaquin, Isco, Portillo; Saviola.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own third pressure, counter attacks, mostly short passing and wing attacks.

Valencia CF

Valencia CF on the other hand is coming off a great match against Bayern Munich in which the team was able to fight off Bayern Munich with 10 men and earn a draw, coming close to even winning the match. Before that Valencia CF had a terrible match against Espanyol in which the team won, but the play was terrible and this whole season has been its hot and its cold, its good play and its bad play, where the good play mostly happens at home terrain where the team is able to win and then the bad play on away matches where Valencia CF is yet to win a single match. In fact Valencia CF has lost 4 times on away matches and drew twice. At home on the other hand Valencia CF has won 5 times and drew once.

Is the current tide, the current flow going to change in tonight's match against Malaga CF and will Valencia CF have its first and might I add big win in the Spanish League, I certainly hope so and that would be a great step in the right direction, a step in kicking out Malaga CF from the Champions League positions and surging forward chasing Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

Fernando Gago was supposedly injured as he didn't feature in Bayern Munich because of his injury, but is said to be fine and in fact he is in the squad to face Malaga. Back in the squad also is Pablo Piatti after a string of injuries kept him out of contention for over 2 months, but now he is back. Due to suspension Victor Ruiz and Roberto Soldado are going to miss the match and Pellegrino has said that he is likely to start Nelson Haedo Valdez in place of Soldado and he as called up Dalmau from the B team as replacement for Ruiz. Joao Pereira is still injured, so is Jeremy Mathieu and Sergio Canales are obviously still out with long term injuries, though both have had light workouts with the ball.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Vicente Guaita.
Defenders: Antonio Barragán, Dalmau, Adil Rami, Ricardo Costa, Aly Cissokho.
Midfielders: David Albelda, Tino Costa, Fernando Gago, Éver Banega, Daniel Parejo, Sofiane Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Andres Guardado, Pablo Piatti, Jonathan Viera.
Forwards: Jonas Goncalves, Nelson Haedo Valdez.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Diego; Barragan, Rami, R. Costa, Cissokho; Ever, Tino Costa; Feghuoli, Jonas, Guardado; Valdez.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, short passing, mostly crosses.

Result Prediction:
Malaga CF 1-3 Valencia CF
Malaga CF have a short squad that lacks any real depth and this has been felt for the last several matches. Pellegrini has rest his key players in the Champions League, while Valencia played with full strength, but I have a feeling that is not going to be enough for them to beat Valencia CF. In fact I expect Valencia CF to have its first away win this season and beat Malaga CF by 3-1 or even higher. I have a feeling the floodgates are going to open and Malaga CF will get washed up.

Valencia CF unveils new dress for 2013/14

Valencia CF officially unveiled the new kit for the 2013/14 under the slogan "At Christmas, new colors, same feeling" Roberto Soldado, Ever Banega, Fernando Gago, Tino Costa and Nelson Haedo Valdez's debut the new Official VCF dress for 2013.

The new kit will be worn in the next match against Malaga and after that in all competitions. I believe the current white dress will also be worn, but be used as an away dress, rather then home dress.

I suspect the decision to create and unveil  new dress is because the white dress didn't sell too much and the blue dresses were just plain ugly. I think this is a good move and the black-orange color is one of the finest color combinations and certainly Valencianista.

Valencia CF interested in Victor Rodriguez

Spanish newspaper Superdeporte reports that Valencia CF is interested in Victor Rodriguez who currently plays for Real Zaragoza as right wing. He is 23 years old and came to Real Zaragoza from Spanish third division club CF Baladona. He was initially brought for Real Zaragoza's B team, but soon got a chance in the first team and since then he has featured regularly for them. Victor Rodriguez made his debut against Espanyol and is currently the teams top players in assists.

I haven't seen him play, though I doubt he is of any reasonable quality for us. I agree that Valencia CF can't spend much on a right winger, especially since we have Piatti returning and Feghouli will only be gone for a month or so, but I feel like we should either get good quality winger or not get any at all. I mean if the new arrival can't even displace Piatti from the starting spot, what is the point in buying him.

So I don't think this will happen, I think the team has followed him, I think there is a real potential interest, but I just don't see Victor Rodriguez being the new arrival come winter.

Valencia CF getting offers for Feghouli

Valencia CF sporting director or technical director whatever you want to call his position Braulio Vazquez has confirmed that Valencia CF has several offers for Sofiane Feghouli. Report are that there are offers from PSG, AC Milan and few other teams for the services of Feghuoli.

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente has said that they are working hard to reach an agreement with Feghouli over the new deal which would have Feghuoli stay for the next 5 years at the club. Feghouli has also stated that he wants to stay, but both sides are having trouble reaching an agreement over the salary as some offers Feghouli has received have him earning over 3 million euros per year, while at Valencia CF he would earn a little less than 2 million euros.

Now all this interest from other clubs shouldn't go to Sofiane Feghouli's head as he is still very young, he is still inconsistent and even though he is an integral part of Valencia CF right now, he doesn't have any competition for his position, so he is not as great or important as he no doubt would like to think of himself.

So he can grow as a player, but also regress, we've seen those cases all too often where potential stars go fizzling out.

Valencia CF 1-1 Bayern Munich Match Report

Well a great night for Valencia CF and Valencia fans ladies and gentlemen, very pleased with the score especially since Valencia CF were playing with 10 men for most of the match. In fact I'd say Valencia CF dominated most of the second half and were on equal footing with Bayern with 10 men of the field.

Ultimately this guarantees Valencia CF path to the next round with 10 points as FC Bate Borisov lost today to Lille. Bate had a good series of result in the Champions League, beating Bayern Munich and Lille, but ever since the double trashing by Valencia CF they've come back to earth it seems.

Valencia CF also has a chance to finish 1st in the group as we travel to Lille in about two weeks, while Bayern Munich will face off with Bate Borisov and hopefully they loose or draw, but either way qualifying was the important thing and the position is not as important, as second place doesn't guarantee you will face weaker teams, in fact it may be the contrary.

The match itself was overall very equal, even with Valencia CF reduced to 10 men early on in the 30th minute. At the beginning Bayern Munich dominated and were on the attack, Dante having a good header after getting away from Cissokho from a corner kick in the 18th minute, but Guaita was positioned well and saves.

Next chance would be by Valencia CF after a great cross from Tino Costa for Soldado, he sort of looses the ball, but the ball bounces to Feghuoli and he shoots, but it goes above the goal. Just a minute later Barragan goes in with a reckless sliding tackle and gets his second yellow card of the match and an automatic red, leaving the team to fend off with 10 men.

Valencia CF would regain control from that re card and would go on the offensive, with Feghuoli having a great chance in the 43rd minute, after Soldado's back-heel to him, but once again Feghuoli's shot goes above the goal.

The first half would end with both sides have few good chances, but mostly play in the final third in Valencia's half and the in the middle of the park.

Second half started with Valencia CF in full control of the match, in fact you'd think Bayern Munich were the ones playing with 10 men. This good play would bear fruits as Soldado latches on to a great pass by Tino Costa, but Soldado with a terrible miss ruins the chance. Should have been 1-0 right there in the 61st minute.

Few minutes later Thomas Muller shoots, but Guaita is well positioned again and saves.

After about 10 minutes with battle in the middle of the park, Valencia CF moves in the final third and a rebound from an attack comes to Feghuoli, this one with a great solo run goes past 3 players, shoots and with the help of Dante is able to fool Neuer and score a goal for a 1-0 lead for Valencia CF.

Valencia's happiness wouldn't last long, as just 5 short minutes after Bayern Munich would equalize the score, after an attack from the left side. A cross from Philipp Lahm finds its way to Thomas Müller, he shoots, but it was Feghuoli's block that changes the direction of the shot fooling Guaita and ending up in the net.
Minute later Bastian shoots from a long range, but Guaita saves.

The last 4 minutes of added time would be nerve racking as Bayern went for the win with full force, but Valencia CF was able to hold on to the draw.

Technical Details:
Valencia CF  (1): Guaita, Barragán, Ricardo Costa, Rami, Cissokho, Tino Costa, Parejo (Jonas, min.71), Éver (Albelda, min. 80), Feghouli, Guardado (Valdez, min. 85) y Soldado.
FC Bayern Münich (1): Neuer; Lahm, Dante, Badstuber, Alaba; J. Martínez, Schweinsteiger; Muller, Kroos (Shaqiri, min.68’), Ribery (Gomez, min. 78); Pizarro (Mandzukic, min. 68’).
Goals: 1-0 Min 76, Feghouli. 1-1 Min 82, Müller.

Player Ratings:
Guaita 6.5 - Great match from Guaita today ,having 3 good saves and nothing he could do about the goal, as the shot was deflected from Feghuoli and went in the other way.
Barragan 3.5 - Reckless tackle earned him the second yellow and automatic red, leaving the team to fend off for 70 minutes with 10 men.
Rami 7 - Great defending from Rami, was dominant in the air and had few crucial interceptions, worked well with Ricardo Costa.
R. Costa 7 - Good understanding with Rami and equally as impressive, making few blocks and tackles on his own.
Cissokho 5.5 - Not a good night from the Frenchmen as he often found himself on the backfoot and lost Lahm for the crucial cross that led to the Bayern goal.
Tino Costa 6.5 - Very impressive performances, closing down Bayern players, linking up well with Banega and providing good and accurate passes. Had two great crosses that could have been assists, if Soldado managed to convert them to goals.
Parejo 6 - Impressive performances and even though he wasn't as involved as Tino Costa, he made some good tackles in defense and provided some much needed accurate passes.
Feghuoli 7 - Full of running all night and managed to score a wonderful goal after a great solo run, but ender up in tragic as his block on Muller's shot fooled Guaita and the ball went into the net. Overall a very good performance.
Banega 6 - Very attack minded in this match, but also disciplined as he provided good cover in the midfield. Good passing overall, started up several attacks and generally helped Valencia CF keep possession.
Guardado 5.5 - Solid defensively and provided good cover for Cissokho on the left, but much to be desired on in attack, as he failed to threaten even once.
Soldado 5.5 - Had three great chances, but failed to convert two and failed to control the ball in one. Made good runs, though he lacked finishing and good ball control this time.
Subs:
Jonas 5 - Came in for Parejo and failed to help out the team. Too attack minded and a lack of understanding with the midfield enabled Bayern to start controlling the match again. He was a poor choice for a sub anyways.
Albelda N/A - Not enough time
Valdez N/A - Not enough time

Valencia CF vs Bayern Munich Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Bayern Munich Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 20.11.2012; 20:45 CET

5th matchday, Champions League

Coaches: Mauricio Pellegrino and Jupp Heynckes

Valencia CF

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a very lucky 2-1 win in the domestic league against Espanyol. And while I wouldn't call it even so much luck, more like compensation I believe from the referee from the terrible refereeing the week before that which made Valencia CF loose points, this this was a compensation and 3 points from that point of view, but more importantly the play was rather poor, in fact it was so poor that a struggling and relegation threatened team like Espanyol looked like a Champions League team. So even though I had some positive views on this match and was even looking at a hard fought victory, now I'm not so sure. The problem is compounded with the fact that Fernando Gago one of our more consistent performers this season is injured and was omitted from the squad to face Bayern Munich.

Valencia CF is also still suffering from lack of competition on the right wing as even though Piatti returned from his shoulder injury, he instantly got some other injury and is still to contribute. Jeremy Mathieu is also suffering from a long term injury and even though he seems likely to return in two weeks he has barely featured this season. Ever Banega after his long injury woes seems rather unfit and a bit overweight, so even though he did make a good return, last match was a step in the wrong direction. Some positive news is that Ricardo Costa is back in the team, though he was only out in the league, its a good addition to have him, considering Valencia CF only has 3 central defenders this season.

Judging from the last match against Bayern Munich and Bate who managed to beat Bayern Munich and Valencia CF beat them convincingly twice I was pretty sure Valencia can make a result at the Mestalla, especially since this season we haven't lost at home and were showing signs of improvement, but after last match I'm not so sure. I think Pellegrino knows that the biggest advantage Bayern had and has is the possession so I'm thinking he is probably going to set up a 3 man midfield, likely in a 4-3-3 formation in order to control the midfield and use the home advantage to pressure and beat Bayern Munich. 

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
Defenders: Barragán, Ricardo Costa, Víctor Ruiz, Rami, Cissokho.
Midfielders: Albelda, Tino Costa, Éver, Dani Parejo, Guardado, Viera, Bernat, Feghouli.
Forwards: Jonas, Valdez i Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-3-3
Line-up: Guaita; Pereira, Rami, Ruiz, Cissokho; Tino, Albelda, Banega; Guardado, Soldado, Feghuoli.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own third pressure, counter attacks, mostly short wide passing, mixed attacks.

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich on the other hand have been doing great in the German Bundesliga and are still leading the table with 31 points from 12 matches played, only loosing once and drawing once. In fact the draw came in this last weekend where Bayern drew 1-1 with Nurnberg away. Their last match in the Champions League Bayern Munich trashed Lille 6-1, and even though I don't consider that too big of a deal as Lille have been rather terrible this season, it shows how much confidence the team has, though this can be their Achilles heel as well.

Thing is Bayern Munich are doing too great in the Bundesliga with 33 goals scored and only 5 goals conceded and don't have any competition at the moment. That can change later on of course, though right now they haven't been really challenged there and whether its luck, weak opposition or Bayern playing great all the time, it means that they are going to underestimate Valencia CF and if the match is a repeat of the last one, I believe Valencia CF can win as Bayern Munich failed to create any clear cut chances against Valencia CF and by the end were even lucky to come away with the win and that was at their home terrain. That said the good Valencia is going to have to show up, the one that can play collectively and fluid as a unit and not one that we've seen all too often this season which shows up in the away matches.

Bayern's coach Jupp is way too experienced and he is going to be warning his players not to underestimate Valencia CF and work hard, he is also probably going to be worried about headers since Bayern seem to have a weakness from it as seen from our match, but other as well. Their defense is also not as great as the statistics in Germany show, in fact I'd say that is their weak point and a chaotic Valencia attack can really devastate that well oiled German defense. Ultimately Bayern Munich are going to be playing their game and will try to dominate possession and use their wings as the preferred way to attack.

Bayern Munich are reinforced as Ribéry and Gomez are set to return, Mario Gomez is back in the squad after a lengthy injury.

Bayern Munich squad:
Neuer, Dante, Van Buyten, Ribéry, Martínez, Mandzukic, Shaqiri, Rafinha, Pizarro, Lahm, Starke, Müller, Contento, Alaba, Badstuber, Schweinsteiger, Gomez, Kroos, Tymoshchuk

Technical Details FC Bayern Munich (probable setups): 
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Neuer; Lahm, Boateng, Badstuber, Dante; Schweinsteiger, Martinez; Shaqiri, Muller, Ribery; Pizarro.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own 3rd pressure, keep possession, mostly short circular passing, spreading the ball to the wings, cut inside the penalty area from the wings.

Result Prediction:
Valencia CF 1-1 Bayern Munich
I predict this is going to be a tough match with few goals, though it could also erupt if early goals are scored, though I suspect both teams will be positioned as to not loose first and foremost and I suspect a tight match, but as I've said with the teams being so close on points and 3 teams fighting to go through one or both teams can become desperate if they are down one goal and go full out offensive. So it can go either way, but most likely its going to be a tight match, probably Bayern scoring first and then going into a more defensive pasture which would allow Valencia CF to control the match and attack more, scoring through a header from a cross.

Valencia CF 2-1 Espanyol Match Report

Well after last weeks fiasco by the referees and significantly damaging Valencia CF, it was about time we won because of a referee. It was an average match with rather poor play by Valencia CF and only won because the referee saved us, no doubt compensation for last week's steal.

But what can I say we started decently with David Albelda and Tino Costa in the midfield and doing pretty well might I add, considering none are really ball possession types, but once again we have no working attack, we have no final third build up play, its all random passes that pose absolutely no danger.

I got to say Feghuoli and Viera seem very cut off, they have no real support and aren't penetrative enough on their own, there is no positioning in the forward center position, somewhere around 30 meters so we can chase for the ball if we loose it or something and this allows for quick counter attacks for the other side, in this case Espanyol.

The big break for Valencia CF came in the 16th minute where Viera latched on from Jonas body and scored a goal. As always my stream was really poor and can't see most stuff, why did Sopcast go down?

But anyways Espanyol would equalize through Longo in the 31st minute and put the game back into contention. Most of the match was played in the midfield, though I believe more in our side of the field than Espanyols. Overall the first half was quite equal, most noticeable for the two goals.

Second half started with Espanyol controlling the match and going on the offensive, as if they were the home team and favorites at that. I got to say I didn't like our play in the first half, but I didn't like our play in the second half even more. Then the changes came as Viera made way for Bernat and Albelda for Banega in what was an attacking move by Pellegrino. Sadly though this didn't improve Valencias play and in fact Banega was either way overconfident or had a complete lack of confidence as he pretty much missed every pass he was trying to make, giving the ball away few times in dangerous positions, so this was really a terrible performance by Banega, not to mention that he failed to keep possession and most of the time lost possession.

Bernat was the same, no penetration on the wing, no crosses, no attacks, receive the ball and instantly get rid of it, no cutting inside, no nothing. Jonas certainly wasn't helping out, completely irrelevant and useless. Apart from the assist that basically was the ball bouncing off of his body he was rather invisible. I mean that was one lucky assist and if he was in control it probably wouldn't even have been an assists, he would have probably wasted the chance.

Then the 88th minute came and the referee gave away a penalty that I didn't see, though again my stream was so bad I was barely seeing the ball. Anyways the two red cards were the big issue. Anyways Soldado stepped up to take it and as always with his penalties just absolutely nailed it and the keeper had no chance as he went the other way, though even if he guessed the side the shoot was so good he wouldn't have been able to stop it.

You'd think with 9 players Espanyol would hold for dear life and try not to loose by more, but with 9 players they pretty much outplayed Valencia and the game ended literally Valencia CF wasting time, that is how bad the play was.

Technical Details:
Valencia CF  (2): Alves; Barragán, Rami, V. Ruiz, Guardado; Albelda (Éver, min.67), T. Costa; Feghouli, Jonas (Valdez, min.79), Viera (Bernat, min.67); Soldado.
RCD Espanyol (1): C.Álvarez, R.Rodriguez, C.Gómez (Tejera, min. 71), Moreno, V.Álvarez; V. Sánchez, Forlin; S. García, Verdú, Wakaso; Longo (Christian, min.80).
Goals: 1-0 Min 16, Viera. 1-1 Min 31, Longo. 2-1 Min 89, Soldado (p.).

Player Ratings:
Diego 6 - Didn't have work to do, couldn't have done anything more for the goal.
Barragan 6 - Decent defensively, Espanyol attacks mostly came from the other side and center, failed to provide much support going forward.
Rami 6.5 - Secure performance and he is slowly improving, making some good interceptions in the air.
Ruiz 6 - Less secure and made few mistakes at the back, though had an overall decent game.
Guardado 6 - Terrible defending, especially in the second half, most of the time was out of position, but went forward to a good extent and was at times more forward than Viera and later Bernat.
Albelda 5.5 - Good defensively, but fails to add more to the team, especially when paired with Tino who isn't a big possession type guy either.
Tino Costa 6.5 - Can't hold possession for his life, but he does run a lot and spread the ball simply but accurately. Pressured Espanyol midfield and tracked back to defense fast.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Second match in a row after his amazing performance in the champions league that he's been rather poor. Complete lack of penetration from his side, was slow and cumbersome on the ball and failed to link up with pretty much everyone.
Jonas 4.5 - Completely lucky assist if you can call it that, was mostly anonymous the whole match and failed to do anything of notice, needs to be dropped from the starting eleven.
Viera 6.5 - Well scored a good goal and had some glimpse's of brilliance, but needs to be more consistent and needs to learn to work better with other players.
Soldado 6.5 - Superbly taken penalty and was always trying to get into positions. The lack of service he gets is amazing and needs chances to score, which he isn't getting.
Subs:
Bernat 5 - Didn't add anything to the attack, didn't make any runs and always returned the ball backwards.
Banega 5 - Poor performance this time by Banega. After two promising matches this one was a regress and lost many balls and failed to solidify the midfield and hold possession.
Valdez N/A - not enough time.

Real Valladolid 1-1 Valencia CF Match Report

Referees 5, Valencia CF 0. This game was given to Real Valladolid by the referee, overall the 5th game referees have given to other teams. Even in the Calciopoli refereeing scandal it wasn't this obvious there is massive cheating going on.

But lets go to the match for a moment here. Valencia CF started with a 4-3-3 formation with Gago as the defensive midfielder sitting deep, while Banega and Parejo were more advanced feeding balls forward. Nelson Valdez also started after his recent good performances. The match started with Valencia CF dominating possession and being on the attack.

It took a while until Valencia CF had a chance, but in the 14th minute Daniel Parejo hit the post from a free kick from the resulting play after that Valencia CF was given a free kick on the left side. Guardado took the free kick from which Cissokho scored.

Valencia CF would keep probing and trying, Valdez would have one decent chance after a good cross by Banega but was pushed out of the ball, then Guardado in the 37th minute would have a clear path in front of him, he shoots but the ball goes just wide.

Valencia CF dominated the match for most of the match, though it was lacking that forward punch as Feghuoli was quite lackluster and Valdez from an early head injury wasn't 100% and you can see he was struggling.

At half time Soldado was brought on for the obviously injured Valdez. Second half started much like the first with Valencia CF having the initiative and even scoring a goal that was deemed offside, which I'll come back to later and to all of the decisions that went against us this match that ultimately led to Valencias demise.

Minutes later after Valencia CF second goal, Real Valladolid had a counter attack and Cissokho was basically ahead of the chasing Valladolid player, got in front of the ball, was fouled by the Valladolid player and having being fouled he lost his footing stumbling towards the ball at which point he started falling as he was being overtaken and both players sort of stumbled upon each other. At worst this was too little to give a penalty at best it was foul on Cissokho. The paid shill of a referee decided that this was foul by Cissokho and no less a red card foul for havens sake that was the most ridiculous call I've seen for several months now, Valencias had bigger injustices done though overall. But the call was absurd, there was a foul alright, but it was against Cissokho, this also leads us earlier when Valdez was fouled in Valencia's penalty area as someone gave his a big hit in the stomach and it was a red card foul for sure, but the referee acted like he was blind and allowed play. Later on Valencia CF had a clear cut penalty as a Valladolid defender played with his hand, but once again the paid shill didn't call it, later on we had a clear absolutely onside goal rejected and the nail in the coffin was the penalty and red card of Cissokho, making sure Valencia CF wouldn't be able to come back if Valladolid scored.

Overall Real Valladolid barely saw out goal before we were down to two men. They had two chances overall, one shot hit the post in the first half and then another semi chance in the second half. Valencia CF wasn't particularly threatening in front of goal either, but we controlled the possession and tempo of the match, in an away match that is what you do to win and were on the right track to winning even with all the calls against us, but then a gifted penalty and a red card sealed the fate.

Pellegrino also made weird substitutions, he took out Banega and put in Tino, which was a weird substitution as Banega had a great match and Parejo was the invisible one, plus Tino is offensive as well, a defensive move would have been Albelda for Banega, certainly not Tino for Banega.

Then he had even weirder substitution as he took off Gago and put in Jonas in his place, when Valencia CF was already suffering for possession, this move pretty much made sure Valencia lost the midfield battle and Real Valladolid dominated from that moments on, with Valencia CF attacking only from weak counter attacks. In the final moments though we could have won as a series of shots made their way to I believe Rami who had a shot, but was blocked and that was the end of the match.

Technical Details:
R. Valladolid (1): Dani Hernández, Rukavina, Rueda, Óscar, Omar, Bueno, Peña (Bueno, min. 77), Álvaro Rubio (Sastre, min. 67), Víctor Pérez, Balenziaga y Manucho.
Valencia CF (1): Alves,  Cissokho, Rami, Gago (Jonas, min. 77), Feghouli, Ever (Tino Costa, min. 67), Barragán, Valdez (Soldado, min. 46), Guardado, Víctor Ruiz y Parejo.
Goals: 0-1 Min. 14 Cissokho 1-1 Min. 64 Víctor Pérez.

Player Ratings:
Diego 5 - Didn't have anything to do, apart from one stretch early on when the ball hit the post, one punch in the second half and then the penalty. Completely misread the penalty shot though and as a supposed penalty expert should have done better.
Barragan 4.5 - Ineffective performance by Barragan, failed to link up with Feghuoli, was beaten and out of position several times. Had few desperate crosses in attack that gifted the ball.
Rami 7 - Secure performance, won pretty much all air duels and made several crucial interceptions.
Ruiz 6.5 - A little less secure than Rami, but did well and had two good blocks and one header to clear a big threat from counter attack.
Cissokho 6.5 - Secure defensively, lost his man few times, but went forward do a great extent and scored Valencia's goal. He was fouled for the penalty and as he was falling he bumped into the Valladolid player basically and that was seen as a red card foul by the referee.
Gago 6 - Good performance as always, spread the ball well from defense, but did have several smaller mistakes and was out of position for some crucial counter attacks by Valladolid.
Parejo 5 - Not very effective, lost several passes and wasn't important in any play, came more to the forefront in the second half, but largely ineffective performance.
Banega 6.5 - Great performance overall with some fine passes and link up play. Had one wonderful cross for Valdez, though he had trouble sustaining his level for long periods and I think this is due to lack of fitness. Needs to loose few kilos and have more stamina exercises.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Rather anonymous performance this match, after having a great match just few days ago in the Champions League. Don't know if he was tired or doesn't have any understanding with Barragan, but very inefficient performance.
Valdez 5.5 - Started brightly with few good runs into the penalty area, catching few crosses and doing what he could with them, but after he headed with a Valladolid player he was pretty much done, being very ineffective.
Guardado 7 - Great performance by Guarado as he was a constant threat to Real Valladolid, having several good runs, few decent crosses and provided the assist for Cissokho.
Subs:
Soldado 6 - Came on for Valdez on half time, but didn't show for it. Had one shot that was blocked, of course he had a goal neglected as well, he was onside.
Tino 5.5 - When he came in Valencia CF was with 10 players and failed to provide much relief in the middle. Maybe a bit better defensively than Banega and run more, but couldn't control proceedings.
Jonas N/A - Not enough time, though a weird substitution by Pellegrino, maybe he was watching from a TV and didn't have the best sense what was going on?

Valencia CF players on national duty

Valencia CF striker Roberto Soldado has been called up to the Spanish national team for the friendly match on the 14th November against Panama. Roberto Soldado has featured several times for Spain in a row already and his recent good form has helped him get called up again. Its looking like he is becoming a regular player.

Ricardo Costa has been called to the Portuguese national team after missing out a certain period, Joao Pereira on the other hand has been a regular and had of course been called up again.

Adil Rami has also been called up to the French national team and even though he has lost his starting place since the Euro's, he is still called up regularly and may even have a rare start in the next friendly match.

Diego Alves has once again been called up to the Brazilian national team and he has slowly made the starting position his, on the other hand Jonas Goncalves has been dropped from the team due to his poor showings there, as well as poor form at Valencia CF this season.

As already reported Alberto Tino Costa has been called to the Argentinian national team for the second time and he alongside Fernando Gago will feature for Argentina. Tino Costa has certainly deserved this call up with some great performances this season and good consistency.

Valencia CF midfielder Sofiane Feghuoli has been included in Algeria’s squad to play Bosnia in an international friendly November 14 as well.

Valencia CF 4-2 Bate Borisov Match Report

What a match, very exciting, very interesting with lots of goals and plenty of drama as well. One thing certain is that Feghuoli had a wonderful night, the team showed what it can do at its best, but also at its worst and Ever Banega is slowly but surely coming back.

I'm going to leave the rest of the report for tomorrow and go straight to the player ratings right now:

Player Ratings:
Guaita 4 - Terrible match by any standards as he failed to claim a rather easy ball from a free kick that went through his legs. Very nervous and insecure performance, one of his worst performance in Valencia shirt.
Joao Pereira 7.5 - Amazing match by Joao as he pretty much dealt with anything that came on his side and provided a great support for Feghuoli combining well.
Rami 6 - Rather good performance expect for one silly pass that got caught and even though the Bate player used his hand to catch the ball, the ref didn't see it so it could have easily been a goal.
R. Costa 6.5 - Effective and no nonsense performances, defended great and got rid of the ball fast.
Cissokho 6 - Went forward to great extend and had few good crosses, but suffered at the back and was beaten several times. Seems to me like he is fatigued as he has pretty much been playing non stop with Mathieu injured.
Gago 6.5 - Wonderful performance for all of the match, except basically the 5 seconds where he gifted the ball to Bate Borisov and they scored their second goal. Before that an almost perfect performance as he dominated possession and provided a great assist as well for Feghuoli.
Tino Costa 6.5- Industrious performance with lots of running and probing, pressured well and rather good distribution of the ball as well.
Feghuoli 8.5 (MotM) - Just amazing performance by Feghuoli as he was combining well with Joao on the right side and was really causing all sorts of trouble for the Bate defense all match long, scored two great goals as he got himself in great positions to receive the passes.
Jonas 6 - Scored a rather lucky goal, but a very important goal nonetheless, but other than that he was barely visible.
Guardado 6.5 - One of his better performances, tracked back superbly and defended really great, but penetrative going forward as well. Pressured all over the left side, forcing Bate players to make frequent mistakes.
Soldado 6.5 - Not the best of performances though he did convert the penalty with a great shot and came into decent positions, but not enough to increase his goal tally.
Subs:
Banega 6.5 - Came in and took some time to get into the game, but once he settled he did great providing a good outlet to pass to, helped control the midfield and provided the assist for the 4th goal.
Valdez 5.5 - Didn't have enough time to be more effective, though he did have one decent chance he got out most of.
Albelda N/A - Not enough time.

Valencia CF vs Bate Borisov Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Bate Borisov Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 07.11.2012; 20:45 CET

4th matchday, Champions League

Coaches: Mauricio Pellegrino and Antoli Kapski

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a good run of form in the Champions League and of course after it trashed Bate Borisov 3-0 at their stadium, all three goals scored by Roberto Soldado in his first hat-trick this season.Valencia CF also just beat Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league ending their unbeaten run since basically late spring. This means Valencia CF is in good form and winning tonight against Bate Borisov will be a huge step in qualifying for the next round in the Champions League, a big objective for Valencia CF as it helps enormously financially and it isn't hurting in getting better sponsorship deals.

Apart from Jeremy Mathieu and Sergio Canales everyone else is fit and healthy and even though Rami had a small scare in the match against Atletico Madrid it seems it was just a suppressed vein which the physiotherapist seemed to fix right there at the scene, but Rami was still replaced as a percussion. Even Pablo Piatti has returned from injury and he is actually in the squad tonight to face Bate Borisov.

Last match Valencia CF against Bate Borisov was rather strange, Bate defended well, but the penalty opened up the game and as Bate Borisov tried to attack, Valencia CF sued the space and were able to score 3 times. Tonight Bate Borisov are not likely to make the same mistakes against Valencia CF and this is very likely going to be a tough and close match where both sides can win. Valencia CF must be 100% ready and focused in order to win and my worries are that some of the players may be tired as they played a really demanding match against Atletico Madrid, up until that time the most in form team in Europe.

Bate Borisov on the other hand have had a good run in the Champions League and in their domestic league. Their good run in the Champions League ended when they met Valencia CF basically, up until then they've beaten Bayern Munich and Lille. Bate Borisov also lost their last match in the Belorussian Premier League to Naftan, I suspect many of their top players were rested to keep them fresh for tonight's match.

Match Result Prediction:

Valencia CF 2-1 Bate Borisov

I feel like its going to be a tight and close match, I think Valencia CF are going to have more possession and control, but as until now we would lack penetration and unless some mistake by the Bate defense Valencia is going to struggle to score. I have a feeling that we are going to score the opening goal on a counter attack though, Bate Borisov would use the tiredness of our players and press, giving us chances on the counter that probably Soldado will score. The match would open up then and I suspect we are going to we just barely by 2 to 1.

Wilfried Bony to transfer to Valencia CF?

Wilfried Bony to Valencia CF?

With more and more certainty that Jonas Goncalves is going to move to the Premier League in England, either to Tottenham or Liverpool, Valencia CF is looking for possible replacements for Jonas. One player that has caught the eye of Braulio Vasqiuez is Wilfried Bony and Valencia CF is interested in bringing him in.

Wilfried Bony currently plays as a Striker for Eredivisie club Vitesse Arnhem and has also featured for Cote D'Ivorie. He is 23 years old, so a young player and possible long term solution for Valencia CF. He has scored 27 goals for Vitesse.

Valencia CF is likely looking to make some good money on the transfer market this winter in order to be able to fund few reinforcements and with Jonas price at 10 million and more it would be enough to fund at least two new players, certainly Wilfried Bony as he is valued at about 7 million euros, though his realistic value is probably somewhere around 5 million euros, big plus for Valencia CF is that his contract runs out in 2014 and he is not likely to extend it.

Valencia CF 2-0 Atletico Madrid Match Report

Valencia CF ended Atletico Madrid's long unbeaten streak and won 2-0 over them in what was a exciting match. Overall there weren't many chances on either side, Atletico Madrid threatened once in the earlier stages and then Valencia CF took the lead with an amazing volley by Roberto Soldado in the 20th minute.

Atletico Madrid would try to respond, but Valencia CF paired well and were fighting Atletico Madrid in the midfield, not allowing them to push deep into Valencia's third. That said what little Altetico did was dealt with by the defense.

The first half ended 1-0 for Valencia CF with both sides playing equal football and neither side having the upper hand in terms of performance. The biggest problem for Valencia was that it really did lack in attack as Jonas and both the wings were ineffective.

Second half started with Atletico Madrid attacking and for the most part controlling the proceedings, they had two decent chances with one was a shot from the left and then a header by Falcao. Valencia CF would have two decent chances as well through Guardado, both times he shot, but was shot was inaccurate and went went wide and above the goal.

Rami would develop some back problems and had to be replaced in the middle of the second half and later on Ricardo Costa and Valencia second coach would get red cards.

Ultimately the end was quite exciting as Valencia CF was holding on to dear life, but Nelson Valdez put an end to any doubt over who the victor was going to be when he made it 2-0 for Valencia CF in the 94th minute.

Technical Details:

Valencia CF  (2): Alves; Joao, Rami (Víctor Ruiz, min.65), R. Costa, Cissokho; Gago, Tino Costa; Feghouli, Jonas (Éver, min.79’), Guardado; Soldado (Valdez, min.87).
Atlético de Madrid (0): Courtois; Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Filipe Luis; Tiago (M.Suárez, min.70’), Gabi (Raúl García, min.67’); Turan, Emre (C.Rodríguez, min.56’), Adrián; Falcao.
Goals: 1-0 Min 20, Soldado. 2-0 Min 94, Valdez.

Player Ratings:
Diego Alves 6.5 - Had two great saves, otherwise not very secure in the air, but wasn't tested too much.
Joao Pereira 7 - One of his better matches in a Valencia CF shirt. Make sure no one beat him all night long, making some crucial tackles and blocks.
Rami 7 - Confident and secure, defended well alongside Costa, getting the better out of Falcao on most occasions. Was injured towards the end and replaced by Ruiz.
R. Costa 6 - Good defensive display, made few important blocks, but needless red card as he could have been more careful. The referee was no doubt harsh, but Costa should have known better.
Cissokho 6.5 - Secure performance, did his defensive duties well and blocked out Arda for most of the match. Did go forward to a certain extent as well, but was more subdued than other matches.
Gago 7 - Great command of the midfield, spread out the ball well and pressured Atletico's midfield consistently.
Tino Costa 6.5 - Run a lot and was always useful in defense, midfield and in more advanced positions, lacks ball controlling skills that Gago and Banega have, but makes up in other ways.
Feghuoli 7 - Not very effective going forward, though he did hold the ball effectively, keeping possession for Valencia CF and covered well defensively. Lovely pass late game for Valdez to seal the match.
Jonas 5.5 - Not very effective and barely saw the ball. What little he had of it was largely basic passes and should be worried about his starting spot prospects based on his performances this season.
Guardado 6 - Covered great defensively and did have few forwards runs, including two good chances, but the first one his shot was very poor and in the second one he decided to shoot again, instead of playing Soldado or Banega. So poor decision making and poor shooting skills, needs to do more.
Soldado 7.5 - Man of the match performance, even though he didn't have much chances at all. One chance was all it took and it was what basically won Valencia CF the match.
Subs:
Ruiz 6.5 - Replaced Rami and did just as well, making one important foul to stop Atletico's counter in its tracks.
Banega N/A - Did not have the influence I was hoping he'd have, but Valencia CF was already on the back foot and then reduced to 10 men. Hopefully with these appearances he'd get to his best form.
Valdez 6.5 - Came in and almost instantly scored to seal the match and give Valencia CF the victory in the dying moments of the match. Great anticipation, awareness and calmness to fool Courtosis and slot the ball into the net.

Valencia CF vs Atletico Madrid Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Atletico Madrid Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 03.11.2012; 22:00 CET

10th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Mauricio Pellegrino and Diego Simeone

Valencia CF

Valencia CF are coming to this match after a disappointing loss to Real Betis in the league at a time when the team just started winning in the league against Atletic Bilbao and then in the Champions League against Bate Borisov 3-0 at that, but then just like so many matches away this season, Valencia CF lost to Real Betis and it was a similar result to the one in Levante previously away from home, both times we conceded first and were unable to break their defenses.

With such poor results at away matches and not so convincing performances at home either Valencia CF finds itself sitting at 11th place on the table with only 11 points out of 9 matches. Now the season is still early on and there is still plenty of time to run things around, but the team must improve in more ways than one and really show it on the field with dominating performances and good results. 

The time is ticking for Valencia CF coach Mauricio Pellegrino and he is under severe pressure right now, and this match against Atletico Madrid may make or break his career here at Valencia CF and may also make or break the team as well. Valencia CF is going against the in form Atletico Madrid who haven't lost a single match since last season and have shown in all competitions that they are not a team to be underestimated as they trashed Chelsea in the Super Cup and have taken their Europe League group with ease.

For Valencia CF and Mauricio Pellegrino this is a must win match, for Pellegrino this may be his last match if he looses and for Valencia CF this may be the end of any Champions League ambitions for next season. If Valencia is to finish in the top 4 the team needs to make a statement right now and what better way than by beating Atletico Madrid tonight. They may be the most in form team right now and are still challenging even Barcelona, but they are not invincible and Valencia CF have always had good results playing against Atletico Madrid at home and this has always been a really competitive match, so Valencia really has a good chance of beating Atletico Madrid tonight.

Pellegrino rested few players in the Copa Del Rey match and so they are going to be fully fit and prepared for this match. Mathieu's injury returned a week back and he will be missing for at least 2 more weeks, Piatti is fully healed, but will need at least one more week before he is back to full training, Feghuoli is also going to be available for this match and pretty much all the rest of the players are available, so there is quite the squad to choose from.

Recently Pellegrino has been trying out a makeshift 4-3-3 formation, with Tino playing as the advanced midfielder and it worked against Bate Borisov, though not so much against Real Betis obviously, the formation does transform to 4-2-3-1 when attacking though with Tino in that advanced position behind the striker and he has shown promise there, but we might see a more conventional formation against Atletico Madrid, though he is likely to pack the midfield in order to control possession and starve Falcao out of service that way, at least that is what I would be doing if I was the coach.

Valencia CF squad: to be announced...

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Guaita; Pereira, Rami, R. Costa, Cissokho; Ever, Gago, Feghuoli, Tino; Guardado; Soldado.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, short passing, mostly crosses.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid on the other hand have been going from strength to strength and are yet to loose one single match since around summer time last season and I sure do hope tonight is the time they loose. They've had big enough of a streak and good results and so its overdue to stop. I mean universal chances here are against them and Valencia CF could really stop their high. That said they are the most in form team right now in Spain and probably in Europe as well and with Falcao as their leader they are crushing all sides they meet, so sufficive to say they are going to be one difficult opponent tonight and are on paper and realistically favorites to win, though as I've said Valencia CF does historically have great results against Atletico Madrid at home.

Atletico Madrid are right now sharing the 1st position on the table with Barcelona, just loosing out on goal difference, but with same amount of points, 25 each. Is there a point saying who their main goalscorer is? Its Falcao obviously with 10 goals scored so far, though this could be a double edged sword for them as well, as apart from him no one is even close to that amount of goals and their second striker is Raul Garcia with only 3 goals, so get Falcao out of the equation and Atletico Madrid are vulnerable again. No one even has any big assists, so that tells us that chances are mostly created individually by Falcao himself or he gets in many poachers goals by rebounds and dead ball situations.

If I was the coach I'd put a player to directly mark Falcao as its obvious to me he is the biggest threat and the way his goals come from, having someone mark him constantly would put a damp in Atletico's threat. Now other players can be dangerous as well, but with dominance over possession you can really starve Atletico Madrid out of any chances. 

Now Atletico Madrid are also defensively solid and they have great team play so obviously they are tough to crack as well, but as we saw from last season they do have problems when things get chaotic and fast, so while their organization is their strength, having a team that will play to their weaknesses can trump them. What Valencia CF will need to do is play fast football in the final third and just bombard their penalty area with crosses, which is not too tough to do with how bad our players crosses sometimes are, it will lead to chaos and that is our chance. Our strikers will need to be really effective though and we can not waste any chances. So I hope Soldado is Goldado tonight and that others step up their game as well.

Atletico Madrid squad: to be announced...

Technical Details Atletico Madrid (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Courtosis; Juanfran, Godin, Miranda, Felipe; Gabi, Mario Suares; Raul Garcia, Belozoglu, Turan; Falcao.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own third pressure, mixed passing, wing attacks mostly.

Result Prediction:
Valencia CF 1-2 Atletico Madrid
I hope Valencia CF can win, but I just don't see it. I think its going to be a competitive match, I think we will most likely even control more of the possession, but I see us conceding some silly goal from a defensive mistake and then I expect Falcao to also score some poachers goal. We are likely going to score as well, possibly Feghuoli, but I think Atletico Madrid will just edge Valencia CF.

Jordi Xumetra to join Valencia CF?

Jordi Xumetra

Valencia CF is ramping up the search for a new right winger as the coach and staff have identified the position as one of the weak links that should be strengthened in the winter transfer window. Additionally Valencia CF will loose Feghuoli for at least a month in the spring as he will play in the African cup of nations for Algeria, but even more problematic is that Feghuoli hasn't extended his contract yet with Valencia CF and is contemplating a move to PSG in the winter.

Jordi Xumetra is the prime target for this position and Valencia CF sporting director Braulio seems inclined to bring him as a cheap but quality option.

Jordi Xumetra is 27 years old and is currently valued at about 1.5 million euros and is one of the best players for Elche at the moment, along with Valencias Carles Gil there who is on loan with Elche.

Jonas could leave in January

Tottenham and Liverpool interested in Jonas

Valencia CF striker Jonas Goncalves could very well be on his way out of Valencia CF this winter transfer season. Internal sources have it that the coach and staff are not pleased with Jonas performances this season and his recent stunt after being substituted hasn't gone too well with the club and staff.

Several clubs have shown interest in Jonas Goncalves in the past including Tottenham and more recently Liverpool. Both these teams have lack of strikers and are seriously considering making a move for Jonas in the winter transfer market.

I have Jonas valued at 10 million euros in my last update and this could be a realistic price for English teams who have significantly more resources than Spanish clubs.

Feghuoli contemplating a move to PSG

Sofiane Feghuoli to transfer to PSG?

Reports coming out of France suggest that PSG are interested in acquiring the services of Sofiane Feghuoli, Valencia's sole right winger at the moment with Piatti still injured.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi refused to rule out moving for the Algerian international when asked about the youngster over the weekend.

He told Le Buteur: “All I can say is that we have established a list of Arab talents that interest us and the player you quote is a part of it."

“It will be a positive for PSG to have Arabs in their ranks.  We are looking at options to sign one or two quality Arab players who can bring something more to the team.”

When asked about the PSG interest in him Feghuoli said: " I'm flattered by PSG interest in me, but out of respect for Valencia CF and the fans I won't talk about it, but I'd be glad to return to Paris, its my city.

I feel very happy here at Valencia CF, we are playing each year at the top level and in European competitions, and right now my agent is negotiating with Valencia CF to extend my contract."