Purchase deal to be signed this week

It's been about a month since Lim was announced as the new owner but there have been a few issues in need to sort out in the contract. As a result, all operations, ingoing and outgoing, were frozen until the deal was finalized. During this time, rumors spread like wildfire about the players that were arriving as well as the departing players.

There were some rumors before Lim was declared owner like the arrival of Aleix Vidal (Almeria), Juanfran Moreno (Real Betis) and Javier Espinosa (Barcelona B). However, those were put to a stop by Lim since they were signings of the "old" Valencia CF, they were not good enough for the new Valencia CF. This caused the anger of Vidal, who was hopeful of coming to Valencia, who lashed out at the new management explaining that big names are not always the best choice. Vidal now seems on his way to Sevilla while Espinosa was just left hanging with the interest in him failing to materialize.

After Lim's arrival there was also talk of the arrival of Anderlecht player Cheikhou Kouyate. The interest in him was shared by West Ham mainly and Valencia seemed the clear favorites since it was Kouyate's favored destination. However, Kouyate got impatient while waiting for the club purchase deal to finalize and opted to go to West Ham instead. Big disappointment for me to see another signing get away.

The lack of movement has also stirred up the voices of former Valencia CF players, including Albelda, who were complaining at the lack of any real change since Lim was declared owner.

According to reports, one issue in the deal was a clause that was inserted which stated that if Lim were to abandon the club within the next 5 years, there would be a huge penalty (I think it was about 330 million) which he had to pay. Outrageous!! As expected, Lim made a very angry phone call to Salvo who was quick to remove the clause. All the other conflicts in the contract were pretty minor from what I have read. There will be a final meeting on Monday to clear out any last minute issues and then the signing should take place around Thursday this week. After that, let the departures and signings begin.

Juan Antonio Pizzi to be replaced

Peter Lim's takeover of the club will not only see the arrival of new players but will likely see the arrival of a new coach to Valencia CF. Pizzi has done well this season improving the team a lot but could not compensate for the dire situation in which former coach Djukic left the club. Who is the likely new coach? Well, Lim's close friend and player agent, Jorge Mendes, unsurprisingly recommends a coach from Portugal.

The candidate is 40 year old Nuno Espirito Santo, a former goalkeeper for Porto, Osasuna, Deportivo La Coruna and Dynamo Moscow, who currently manages Rio Ave FC in the Primeira Liga of Portugal. He took over this club in 2012 and left it this year, and it is so far the only club which he managed.This is the first time I hear of this club but when I researched them, I found out that they finished 11th in the Portuguese league. However, this year he managed to reach the semi finals of both the Taca de Portugal and the Taca de Liga, two knockout competitions similar to the Copa del Rey. Both finals were lost to Benfica. Pretty impressive for an unknown team. Mendes seems to have extreme confidence in this coach and convinced Lim of his talent comparing him to the likes of Mourinho and Villas-Boas. Reports are saying that Pizzi will most likely be out the door soon.

I am surprised at this idea of a new coach. When Lim was announced as the winner of the bid for Valencia CF, he promised to keep both President Salvo and coach Pizzi. Now he could change his mind. There is no reason to get rid of Pizzi as he's shown a lot of promise despite having a relatively small budget squad. Valencia CF beat Barcelona, was unlucky not to beat Madrid also, reached the semi finals of the Europa League and made great comebacks (Basel and almost Sevilla) all in the short time he's been here. With bigger talent available to him and with more continuity at the club, he could work wonders. Replacing him could be very risky.

Should the new coach arrive, which is highly likely now but still not certain, he will bring with him one player from his Rio Ave FC squad to add to the subsidiary Mestalla B team. The player is 19- year old Brazilian Filipe Augusto who plays in central midfield and is supposedly a great talent.

Recently, the following players were put up on the sales list of the club: Guaita, Rami, Costa, Guardado, one of Perreira or Barragan, Ruiz, Cissokho, Banega, Michel, Viera, Postiga, Jonas. While most of those will still be on their way out, the arrival of a new coach could see some of them incorporated into the plans for next year should the new coach value them differently than Pizzi.

Anyways, thumbs up to you if you read all that. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Valencia CF closing in on Enzo Pérez

Valencia CF are closing in on Benfica player Enzo Pérez as the club is looking to strengthen the midfield after the departure of Seydou Keita and Enzo Pérez has come up as the perfect target. Enzo Pérez played an important role in Benfica's fifth successive league title, scoring four goals and same amount of assists in 28 appearances.

He told the media earlier this week: ""There is the possibility of playing for Valencia, who are a great club, but right now I want to be fully focused on the Argentina national team and on the World Cup." It seems as the player isn't too keen on moving right now and would rather wait after the world cup is over, which makes sense as he wants to be calm and relaxed when playing in the world cup.

The management at the club wants to finish the deal before the world cup though as they believe his price could increase after the world cup and the important thing would be an agreement between the two clubs.

Adil Rami to join AC Milan

We've all known that Adil Rami will leave Valencia CF, but it wasn't clear whether it will be AC Milan, since they were unwilling to pay Valencia's asking prize of 8 million, and there was a slight potential that Adil Rami would return to Valencia CF, but now the situation has been rectified and Adil Rami will be leaving Valencia CF and joining AC Milan this summer.

Valencia CF have agreed a lower transfer fee after there have been no other bids for the defender and the insistence from the defender to join AC Milan. The offer is in the region of 5 million euros and some addons in terms of the players performances and stuff, possibly rising the price close to 6 million euros over a certain period.

The player is also said to have reached a personal agreement with AC Milan and the transfer deal waits to be finished once Peter Lim officially takes over the club. Until then the deal can't go through, but good news is that Peter Lim is finalizing the paperwork needed to officially become the new owner of Valencia CF and is almost certainly going to allow Adil Rami to leave and make room for other players like Nicolas Otamendi.

Valencia CF could play Europa League?

I know it sounds like a miracle or just crazy. I actually don't believe it too much myself. However, UEFA has found two Turkish clubs (Eskişehirspor and Sivasspor) guilty of match fixing and thus barred either of them from competing in the Europa League next year as per the regulations. The clubs still have less than 10 days to appeal the decision. Should this be true, two slots will open up for the Europa League. Now, the rumor that's spreading like wildfire on various sports websites is that the two spots will go to the countries with the highest UEFA coefficient, Spain and England. This would see Valencia CF and Manchester United both get a chance at qualifying for the Europa League. Sounds like wishful thinking to me. I personally don't think that UEFA will take away slots from Turkey and give them to other countries. The fair thing to do would be to give the next two highest teams in Turkey the Europa League spots.

Further reason why this is doubtful is because two or three weeks ago the same rumor was spreading except it was about Ukrainian club. There were reports that due to the unrest in Ukraine and the safety considerations, Ukrainian clubs would lose the privilege of competing in UEFA competitions and Spain and England would receive those spots. That rumor was quickly dispelled by UEFA and  put to rest. This new rumor with Turkish clubs has yet to receive any response.

While I would love to see Valencia CF play at a European competition next year, I don't really know how I would feel about qualifying in this way, should it be true. All we can do is wait for UEFA's decision.

Javier Espinosa to join Valencia CF

Valencia have reportedly almost wrapped up the signing of 21 year old Barcelona B player Javier Espinosa. The player is out of contract this summer (June 30) and as such will arrive as a free signing. He is very versatile and can play anywhere in midfield, on the wings or as a center forward but mainly as a CM. He has also played on the international level with the under-17, under 19 and under 20's for Spain. I have heard of the name before but I haven't seen him play so if you know anything about him please share your knowledge. Last year, he scored 7 goals and provided 6 assists in 37 games. He looks to be a promising youth and he's free so I would call it a good signing. I don't know where he will fit in Pizzi's plans, he could be an understudy to Parejo I guess.

Official: Pabon sold back to Monterrey

We all knew Pabon would be one of the first to leave this summer and here it is. Quite surprisingly, the club that sold him to Valencia CF in the first place is the one that bought him back, for a cheaper price I might add. This purchase was a joke from the beginning. Pabon arrived last year to compensate for the departure of Soldado. He came from Mexican club Monterrey for about 7.5 million euros, quite expensive given that Valencia CF barely had money to spend and had to pay this amount from the wages they saved from players that were sold. The only thing to go by in terms of his performances was his decent time at Real Betis, but he couldn't even manage that. About half way through the season, he gets loaned to Sao Paulo after hearing of the arrival of Vargas. Now, Monterrey bought him back for 5.1 million euros, 3.75 million euros of this amount goes to some company that owns half his rights. That leaves us with 1.35 million euros, a long way off the 7.5 million originally spent. A terrible investment. Good luck to Pabon!

Mathieu Valbuena in Ever Banega out?

Valencia CF is looking into bringing Mathieu Valbuena from Marseille it seems and this could only mean one thing; Ever Banega who Marseille are interested in will be going out of Valencia CF and joining Marseille, while Mathieu Valbuena will be joining Valencia CF.

Chances are Marseille can't afford the 10 million asking price of Valencia CF for Ever Banega and they are offering a player and lower amount of money, possibly paying 3/4 million and offering Valencia CF a choice between 2/3 players, with Mathieu Valbuena likely the best of the choices that Valencia CF can get.

As you all know Ever Banega didn't even make the Argentinian squad for the world cup and Valencia CF is looking to offload the player until he is still worth a decent amount of money and Marseille are one of the teams interested in brining Ever Banega to their ranks, among few other clubs from the Premier League.

LFP president doesn't like Lim's acquisition of Valencia CF

Corrupt criminal Javier Tebas Medrano the current LFP president, who has been overseeing refereeing fixed matches in favor of Barcelona and Real Madrid and especially on the negative side for Valencia CF which has lost pretty much all but one of their matches against Real Madrid and Barcelona in the last 5 years due to refereeing fixes has said that he doesn't want Lim's arrival in Valencia CF and would be looking to restrict investments into clubs, in order to try and desperately keep the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona dominant in Spain.

This criminal who needs to be in jail for the rest of his life for match fixing and corruption, doesn't like a club like Valencia CF to succeed and be financially stable and able to challenge the big two, so he is going to do everything in his power to try and destroy Valencia CF.

I mean where are the official police investigations into match fixing in Spain? The evidence is plentiful, its more than obvious and its basically a public secret in Spain and pretty much everybody knows about it.

Rodrigo de Paul officially Valencia CF player

Rodrigo de Paul is officially a new Valencia CF player and has signed a 5 year contract with Valencia CF. He is coming as a huge talent and already quite established player in the Argentinian league at only 20 years of age.

I'm excited by this arrival and I'm looking forward to how the player develops and hopefully fit in Valencia CF and go on to become an important player for the club.

Our squad is looking younger and younger by the second and considering there are at least several players that are going to be on the exit door, the average age is likely to drop even more, I just hope the club finds a solid defensive midfielder now that Keita left Valencia CF to join Roma.

Valencia CF close to acquiring Jackson Martínez

Valencia CF are trying to buy Jackson Martínez from Porto and the club is seriously trying to acquire the player. With Peter's Lim 60 million euros on summer transfers the club has a free hand to strongly go after the players it wants.

Reports have it that Valencia CF sent an offer of 30+ million euros, though I really doubt the offer was that high and chances are Spanish media are exaggerating. Even though Valencia CF has 60 million on transfers for the summer, I seriously doubt they are going to spend 30 million on 1 player that isn't even that good.

Playing for Porto in the Portugal league is quite lower level than the Spanish Primera division and Porto is way stronger than their competition as well, so anyone can be scoring enough goals there.

Personally I wouldn't be happy if we got Jackson Martínez and I don't think his play style fits with Valencia CF and I really don't think he is very good, not at 30 million euros.

Valencia CF interested in Juanfran Moreno

Valencia CF is supposedly interested in Real Betis player Juanfran or Juan Francisco Moreno Fuertes in full and he plays as a winger, secondary striker and right back and his versatility is why Valencia CF is interested in him as we can be cover for Feghouli as well as the right back spot and even play as a striker if the team is suffering with many injuries.

He is 25 years of age and has played 34 times for Real Betis since 2013 and costs around 4 million euros. His versatility, low cost, willingness to join Valencia CF and relatively low salary is why Valencia CF is interested quite a bit in the player.

Seydou Keita rejects Valencia CF contract

Seydou Keita has rejected Valencia's new one year contract and has decided to continue his football career elsewhere. He joined Valencia CF in the winter transfer market as a free agent and quickly became a first team regular, playing most of the matches in the defensive midfielder position.

His time spent in Valencia CF was very short though as he looks to join a new club this summer and Valencia CF would be looking for his replacement, especially since Valencia CF won't be buying Romeu from Chelsea.

Valencia to bid for Cheikhou Kouyate

Valencia is a strong contender to sign 24 year old Anderlecht (Belgium) and Senegalese defender Cheikhou Kouyate. Rufete has apparently sent a representative to Belgium to try to negotiate a 9 million euro deal for the player who is considered one of the big talents in the Belgian League. Kouyate can play both as center back and as a defensive midfielder. This player is about 6'4'' in height (193 cm) and is very fast, and strong from set pieces. Valencia are looking to bid for him before the deal between Lim and Bankia finalizes as to beat competition for him, mainly West Ham and Arsenal, since Belgian clubs like to address their financial needs quickly. Valencia is supposedly leading the race for him so far.

Reports also suggest that he is not the only player being scouted in Belgium with Rufete's representative also keeping an eye on Thorgan Hazard, the 21 year old brother of Chelsea's Eden Hazard, who is on loan at SV Zulte-Waregem from Chelsea.

Valencia CF punish Liverpool

As you all know Liverpool has been in hot pursuit of Dani Parejo and getting in the way of a deal with Seydou Keita. Liverpool has also snapped up Valencia youth player Pedro Cheivirella and are pursuing Fran Villalba, another youth player while Valencia was working to renew their contracts. As such Valencia CF is trying to make it twice as hard for Liverpool to sign Parejo.

Since Valencia CF have declared they are not willing to negotiate at all for Parejo and do not want to accept the buyout clause. The only option that thus remains for Liverpool is to get the player to personally deliver and pay the 25 million euros. This will result in the involvement of tax companies which will subject the amount to income tax and other such legal payments. This will raise the total that Liverpool has to pay all the way to 45 million euros, almost double the amount.

The same case has also been reported to be implemented with Mathieu's case should Barcelona or Bayern insist on signing him. Mathieu's has a 20 million euro release clause but the amount to be paid by a buyer would spike to 36 million euros with taxes.

We were saying a while back after Lim was announced, that we hoped we could keep our star players now. This step by Valencia CF has shown that this will most likely be the case from now.

David Villa close to FC New York City

David Villa's contract for Atletico expires this summer and has not been offered a renewal yet. There are several reports that Villa is looking to the MLS as his next destination with FC New York City as the main suitor. Reports also suggest that he is very close (could be done any time now) to sealing a 3 year deal with them. I had hoped that we could bring David Villa back to the Mestalla but so far there has been no attempt from Valencia.

Do you think we should try to bring him back?

Pre-season Friendlies: LFP World Challenge Result

As you may or may not have known Valencia CF is in a tour in Hong Kong as part of their Asia Tour and along the way to participate in the LFP World Challenge as part of the pre-season. Valencia has won the competition after victories over locals Hong Kong Rangers and fellow Spanish outfit Villareal CF. The games were each only 45 minutes in length and played consecutively. The game was a chance to present the new partnership with Adidas via the kits and also some of the youth team players who played with the rest of the squad (with the exception of all the players called for the World Cup). The highlight for me was Alcacer's world class goal vs Hong Kong. If interested you can see the highlights below to all the games below:

Hong Kong vs Valencia:

Valencia vs Villareal

 

Results:

Hong Kong Rangers 1-3 Valencia CF
Valencia CF 1-0 Villareal CF
Hong Kong Rangers 1-1 Villareal CF

Valencia interested in Enzo Perez

Valencia has been linked to many players in the Benfica squad, Rodrigo, A,Gomes and Garay. Now another name has been added to that list. Enzo Perez is a 28 year old midfielder for Benfica and the Argentinean national team.

When Benfica sold Matic back to Chelsea, Perez took over the midfield and has supposedly fitted in perfectly. When he came to Benfica, it was for about 5.5 million euros, I don't know what he's valued at now. His contract expires in 2018 so there is no real pressure to sell and with him establishing himself in Benfica's first team, thus he would reportedly cost 30 million euros or so. I don't know much about his playing style so feel free to share anything you know about him in the comments below.

Valencia CF and Joma end partnership

Valencia CF and Jome have ended their partnership and from next season Valencia CF will have Adidas as their shirt sponsor.

Valencia CF and Joma collaborated for 3 years, Joma is a Spanish based company who were looking to expand their sphere of sales.

From various reports the new Adidas sponsorship is said to be higher than Joma and even though Peter Lim just bought Valencia CF and is going to pay off the debt, any bit of more money the club can get the better.

Valencia CF interested in Fred

Valencia CF is supposedly interested in Brazilian football player Fred or Frederico Chaves Guedes as is his full name. Fred currently plays for Brazilian club Fluminense for which he has scored 62 times in 96 appearances. Fred is 30 years old and has featured for the Brazilian representation on and off since 2005.

The player is said to like the idea of coming back to Europe and playing for Valencia CF, though his current club aren't likely to let him go for anything less than 8 million euros, considering he is also in the Brazilian squad and has been called for the upcoming world cup in Brazil.

Valencia CF might be looking for replacements for Jonas who has been third pick under Pizzi, who requires a bit more direct players who are able to dribble and push their way into positions, while Jonas is more of a flair player with vision and creating chances, rather than a box player or target man, or possibly as a replacement for Vargas who will return to Napoli this summer if Valencia CF doesn't buy him, but Napoli's asking price is a bit too much for Valencia CF at 8 million euros.

Valencia CF interested in Aleix Vidal

Valencia is interested in 24 year old Almeria winger Aleix Vidal. Almeria just managed to avoid relegation this season but the winger has performed quite well. He offers lots of pace and is quite the skillful dribbler when I've seen him. I think the player himself will want to move where he doesn't have to be worried about relegation. There is interest from a number of other clubs particularly in Spain who also want to take advantage of Almeria's bottom table finish.

There is no detail as to how much the player would cost but he would be a very useful reinforcement for the right wing. The interesting thing is though, there is consideration in converting him to a right-back position instead of usual right winger role in order to allow Feghouli to play also. The Algerian has performed quite well this season. This leaves the question, if Vidal is the right back what becomes of Pereira and Barragan?

Gary Medel to join Valencia CF?

Spanish media are reporting that Valencia CF is seriously interested in the Chilean player Gary Medel who is currently playing for Cardif City and before he played for Sevilla for 2 season and wouldn't mind returning to Spain, as Cardif City have been relegated to the second league in England if I'm not mistaken.

Gary Medel is a defensive midfielder and has played over 100 times in Europe as well as represented Chile 59 times, an experienced player and in his prime at 26 years of age. He will be a decent replacement for Javi Fuego, though I don't know how quality of a player he is. I know he was considered very good when playing for Sevilla, but since then I haven't seen or heard much about him, so if we have people who follow the premier and/or the Championship league please share your knowledge in the comments about Gary Medel.

I think Gary Medel is going to be an upgrade over Javi Fuego no matter what, but how big of an upgrade and can he displace Keita as the starter is up in the air. Plus as far as I'm concerned we need someone more of a replacement for Parejo, since we don't really have anyone who is a playmaker or box to box player, I mean yeah we have Ever Banega, but he has been playing poorly even in Argentina in a lower level league, so how good can he be in Spain at a higher level?

So we'll have to wait and see how things shape up, but there are going to be big changes in Valencia CF that is for sure and we are going to see a lot of players leaving and arriving this summer, I just hope the staff builds a championship winning Valencia CF that can compete with the top teams!

FC Barcelona interested in Jeremy Mathieu

FC Barcelona is interested in Valencia CF defender Jeremy Mathieu and their possible new coach Luis Enrique is said to be a big fan of the player and sees Barcelona's defense as one of the primary positions that need strengthening.

Its still unclear who their new coach is going to be, and there likely won't be any decisions made before they get their new coach, but Barcelona have been interested whole season for Mathieu and are likely to send Valencia CF an offer for the player.

Jeremy Mathieu has said that he is happy at Valencia CF and want to continue his career here, but its Barcelona and to me I'd like Valencia CF to lose Jeremy Mathieu. I think the player is good, but not good enough and inconsistent. I'd rather Valencia CF play Otamendi and R. Costa with Ruiz and Vezo as back-up.

Valencia CF parts ways with Philippe Senderos

Valencia CF won't be extending Philippe Senderos contract and thus his short career at Valencia CF is over. Last night was his last match for Valencia CF vs Celta Vigo in which he was clearly at fault for the opening Celta goal and he didn't look capable at all in defense.

He arrived in the winter transfer market on as a free agent, but his his 6 months spent at Valencia CF he failed to establish himself and didn't convince with his plays.

For me personally this is a relief because he wasn't reliable at all and I didn't want him staying, plus Valencia CF have Nicolas Otamendi arriving in the summer and between R. Costa, Mathieu, Ruiz, Otamendi and Ruben Vezo the central defender spot is quite crowded.

Peter Lim the new owner of Valencia CF

Its official guys and gals, Valencia CF new owner is Peter Lim with the maximum possible votes. After a long and tedious process of selling the club the decision has finally been made and from now on Peter Lim is the new major shareholder, with over 75% of the club shares.

Peter Lim's offer seemed to be the best overall, even though it wasn't the highest. Some of the other offers were higher, but they were focused too much on one sphere, while Peter Lim offer was the 3rd highest, but with investments in the other spheres like the sporting department and the finishing of the new Mestalla stadium.

What do you guys think tell us in the comments!

Diego Alves extends contract with Valencia CF

Diego Alves has extended his contract with Valencia CF and the new deal should have him stay in the club till 2018.

This means that Vicente Guaita is going to leave 100% since the player himself wants to leave and Valencia CF plans to offload him in order to save money on his salary and bring in a cheaper goalkeeper that is going to be Diego Alves back-up.

In the process of extending the contract is Juan Bernat, while Seydou Keita has already received a new contract for one year and should be officially done after the end of the season.

Valencia CF to be sold Saturday

This Saturday we should know who is the new owner of Valencia CF. All of the finals offers are in place and the final decision on who buys Valencia CF should be made in Saturday.

Peter Lim, US investment fund Cerberus Capital Management is in the running as well, Wanda Corporation and an Arab investment fund are said to be the contenders for the purchase of Valencia CF.

Since the offers are not public, we have no way of certainly knowing who offered what and how much, and anything we get in the media is probably wrong. So at this point there is no clear favorite or no clear best offer and we'll just have to wait and see what Bankia, the Valencia CF foundation and the regional government decide.

Cerberus Capital Management, the New York-based private equity firm in 2011 purchased the Embassy Suites hotel in Valencia and 63 other hotels across the country from Innkeepers USA Trust of southern Florida. Cerberus made the purchase in partnership with Chatham Lodging Trust, a Florida-based real estate investment trust.

They've had several other investments in Valencia and Spain in general and capturing large part of the sporting industry through Valencia CF is seen as the next step.

We don't know much about the Chinese Wanda offer and what we know about Peter Lim;s offer we've already written about here on this blog.

Marseille want Banega

With the rise of French clubs backed by foreign funds, such as PSG and Monaco, to the top of the table also came the downfall of clubs such as Marseille who sit at 6th place. The club has had a bad season and is reforming its squad under the leadership of new Argentinean coach Marcelo Bielsa. With the transfer funds available to him, Bielsa has made his fellow Argentinean Ever Banega, now on loan at Newell's Old Boys in Argentina, a top priority.

Banega is not doing well in Argentina and we have said time and time again that he was even struggling to make an impact there. His form has been far from the mastermind in midfield that we knew before. This makes his return to the Mestalla next season very doubtful. Whether Pizzi decides to give him a chance or not, there is interest in him. For how much? We'll have to wait and see how much Marseille want him. With one year left and his contract and in weary from chances are they will get him at bargain price from what he was worth before.

What do you think? Give Banega a chance or let him go?

Mathieu rejects Bayern

Bayern have been in the market for defenders and have selected Jeremy Mathieu as their target. However, the French center-back insists that he is happy at the club. Even a phone-call directly from Bayern coach Pep Guardiola wasn't enough to persuade the defender as he hopes to remain here and is happy with his role in the team.

There were no details on price, duration or salary offered to him. Barcelona have also been chasing him for the past few years now so they might also have gotten the message that he wants to stay. You could say that he did it because he wouldn't be guaranteed playing time at Barca or Bayern. That would've been true before, but with the defensive frailties both clubs showed this year, that's not the case anymore as both clubs are reforming their defense.

A lot of people have complained about Mathieu being a poor defender at times but there are many who view as a crucial asset in this team. Whether you like him or you hate him, if he did reject Bayern, he made a real statement of commitment to Valencia and its supporters.

Valencia looks for players in Brazil

This transfer window has already seen the addition of Rodrigo de Paul from Racing. However, Valencia is showing interest in other South American players specifically in Brazil.

The first player is 20 year old Neilton, who currently plays for Santos. He is one of the players in Brazil that has been compared to Neymar for his dribbling, flair and agility. He can play as a striker or on the wings. But the greatest thing about him is that he is absolutely free. His contract with Santos expires this winter and he has not renewed. If this deal goes through a talented player will join for no cost at all. Always a good thing.

The second player of interest is 27 year old central defensive midfielder Nilton. Currently playing for Cruzeiro (same club Araujo came from), he is described as a solid player will lots of strength. Apparently Valencia already bid 2.5 million euros for him but was rejected immediately. There is also interest from other clubs, mainly Inter Milan








While these deals will be great if they do go through, this will bring the squad numbers to 34 (including players on loan). This, as you know, is a huge number and so expect a mass clearance of players this transfer window.

Levante UD vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Levante UD vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: Estadi Ciutat de València

Date: 10.05.2014; 22:00 CET

37th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Joaquín Caparrós and Juan Antonio Pizzi

Levante UD and Valencia CF are big rivals since they are both based in Valencia, with Valencia CF being sort of the more successful and better known clubs of the two. Matches against Levante UD have always been interesting and competitive for the most part, tonight both clubs fight for pride and for Valencia CF to safe face a little after what has been a terrible season.

Valencia CF sit at 8th place on the table with Levante sitting 10th place, but only one point separates the two teams. There is no way for Valencia CF to finish better than 8th place, but there is the chance to finish lower, up to 13th place on the table.

Last match Valencia CF managed to draw against Real Madrid in what was a good showing and could have easily been a win for Valencia CF, but while the team has played good versus the big teams this season it has lost way too many points against weaker teams, often by losing the games.

I think one of the main issues this season has been in defense, people can say whatever they want, but from my deep research, analysis and understanding our defense has been the weakest link. We aren't firing on all cylinders in attack or anything, but its been better than our defense. On the other hand we could also be scoring more goals, but I think we've been getting really cheap, really silly goals against us and this has demoralized the squad too many times.

Valencia CF will play well and attack and dominate the game and we'll receive some cheap counter attack goal and players lose morale and Valencia ends up losing. From my experience that has been the situation. Or for example the match against Sevilla in the Europe League when he recieved a last second goal or last match against Real Madrid when we received a last second goal. Both those recent games could have been major wins if we had a better defense.

I think Mathieu is the primary reason for our weak defense this season, I just don't think he is capable enough, not that R. Costa is world class or anything, but he has more experience in central defense, though optimally we would have 2 new central defenders next season.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Alves, Antonio Sivera.

Defense: Joao, Barragán, Senderos, Vezo, Ricardo Costa, Víctor Ruiz, Bernat.

Midfield: Javi Fuego, Dani Parejo, Keita, Feghouli, Piatti, Fede, Michel.

Attack: Jonas, Vinicius, Eduardo Vargas, Paco Alcácer

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):

Formation: 4-4-2

Line-up: Alves; Barragan, R. Costa, Senderos, Bernat; Keita, Parejo, Feghouli; Fede; Paco,Vargas.

Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, high frequency wing attacks, mixed passing, offside trap

Result prediction:

Levante UD 1-1 Valencia CF

I think a draw would seem like the most likely outcome in this match, I don't see big reason why the players would play at 100% and we'll probably see two goals in the later parts of the game, when after the one clu scores the other starts playing better and manages to draw.

Official: Valencia sign Rodrigo de Paul

Valencia have finally completed the signing of 19-year old Argentinean player Rodrigo de Paul from Racing. The deal cost approximately 4.7 million euros, and is dependent on him passing the medical. Also, 10% of future sale/loan goes to Racing. It is a five-year deal that will keep Rodrigo at Valencia till 2019 with a whopping 40 million euro release clause and could reach 50 million depending on how he performs. This is again part of Valencia's movement to keep its talents at the club and avoiding an Isco situation from happening again.

 Apparently, Rodrigo de Paul turned down Udinese, Inter and Arsenal just to accept this Valencia deal showing just how much he wants to be here (although I think this is the work of Pizzi). This makes Rodrigo de Paul the first signing for Valencia in this transfer window.

With this signing also comes criticism from Alfonso Rus (President of the Council of Valencia)  who complains about spending money before new ownership arrives and while already having a squad of about 31 players (including those on loan). To this Salvo responded that the sale of the club shouldn't mean that we stop all operations, we have to constantly work to improve since we don't know when the new owners could arrive.

Anyway, I'm really happy about this signing. I've seen some footage of his game play and it is quite impressive. Good luck to him!

Vicente Guaita on the exit door

Vicente Guaita is not pleased with his situation in Valencia CF, being second goalkeeper to Diego Alves and is said to be looking to leave the club if an offer comes his way in the summer.

In the previous seasons FC Barcelona was interested in him as well as Liverpool and Milan, but the interest has cooled off as he has been second choice for much of this season under two coaches.

There are some clubs looking at how the situation develops with Guaita and could offer to buy him, few clubs from Germany are looking into Guaita, as well as few Spanish clubs who would love to have Guaita as their primary keeper.

Personally I think Vicente Guaita is going to leave in the summer and Valencia CF will either bring some new young goalkeeper on a free transfer or promote some from the youth squads to the first team.

Valencia tracking Pablo Osvaldo

Valencia have rekindled their interest in Italian striker Pablo Osvaldo. The 28 year old currently plays for Juventus (on loan from Southampton) where he has struggled to get playing time with the likes of Vucinic, Tevez and Llorente ahead of him. In searching of playing time, the player could be open to a move to the Mestalla. His current price is in the range of 15 million euros, which could only be possible and practical once the new owner arrives.

The striker is lethal at his best if you remember his days in Espanyol and Roma where he had 20 goals in 44 games and 27 goals in 55 games respectively. For Juventus, he has yet to score anything though having come on only 8 times.

The other name I saw starting to come up was 30-year Brazilian and Fluminese striker Fred. For Brazil, at least I can say he's very good hence his call-up to the World Cup squad. His price would be around 7 million euros according to TM.

Well which one is better for Valencia? Osvaldo, Fred or neither?

Rami Open to Valencia Return

Rami has performed well for Milan during the time he was loaned to them. This has impressed several clubs including Milan themselves, Arsenal and Manchester City. However, things remain in Milan's hands since they have the purchase option which I recall expired sometime in late May. Milan has also been riddled with financial troubles and are reluctant to meet the asking price for Valencia (7 million euros). Therefore, they are trying to negotiate and bring the price down but Valencia is not backing down.

Remember Rami left after some serious disputes under former coach Djukic in which he criticized the coach and some of his teammates leading the club to believe that he is not committed to Valencia.

When asked, Rami said that if Milan do not buy him, he will be open to return to Valencia only if Pizzi wants him to be part of the project.

While things may work out better under Pizzi for Rami and considering he's in good form, is it a good idea for him to return? Is he the one to play beside Otamendi next season?

Valencia CF interested in Joaquín Larrivey

Valencia CF is supposedly interested in Joaquín Larrivey who is an Argentine footballer who plays for Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, as a striker. He has scored 12 goals in 32 matches for Rayo Vallecano and thus Valencia CF is interested in getting him to possibly be a replacement for Vargas and/or Jonas depending on who leaves/stays.

Joaquín Larrivey is likely to come cheap, I don't think more than 3 million euros so that is why Valencia CF is interested

Real Madrid want Paco Alcacer

Real Madrid want Paco Alcacer and if they fail to get Luis Suarez this summer and likely they won't as the player himself has said he'd stay in Liverpool, they are going to turn to Valencia's Paco Alcacer and its said that they are ready to meet Paco's buy-out clause if they can't reach an agreement over the transfer fee with Valencia CF.

Last time I've seen the clause was set to be around 30 million, I know since after the loss of Isco they improved the buy-out clause and I know they increased Paco's clause by a lot, not sure if its 30 million euros exactly, but its high, so if Real Madrid want to buy his services they are going to need to splash a lot of money, though 30 million would be a lot less than 70 million euros for Suarez, so Real Madrid can do it, question is if they think Paco is worth 30 million euros right now.

It saddens me so much to say this, but prepare to lose Paco Alcacer ladies and gentlemen this summer. If Real Madrid want him bad enough and all the sources are saying they want him if they don't get Suarez, then its all but a done deal. The only thing that could prevent this is Paco himself if he refuses Real Madrid, but lets be honest no one refuses Real Madrid and I don't expect Paco to refuse them either!

Carles Gil to play for Valencia CF next season

Valencia CF player Carles Gil who is currently on loan to Elche will be playing for Valencia CF next season, confirmed his agent.

As you all know this means Aly Cissokho won't be coming back to Valencia CF, that is now pretty much 100% sure. There is just no room for 3 left backs and that means Aly Cissokho is most definately going to be sold in the summer.

Aly Cissokho is currently on loan to Liverpool, but between injuries, lack of fitness and some not so good performances he's dropped in the pecking order there and Liverpool won't be purchasing him from Valencia CF.

It is clear that next season Juan Bernat will continue to be the starter on the left back position, with Carles Gil being replacement for him, probably to get some chances in the Spanish cup and when Bernat is injured and/or unfit.

Tell me what you think about these recent happening and do you think Aly Cissokho should be sold, what do you think about Banega and Pabon leaving and what are your thought on some of our transfers?

Atletico Madrid interested in Daniel Parejo

Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Daniel Parejo next summer and their representatives who were at the Bernabeu to watch the game between Real Madrid and Valencia CF, after the match spoke to Valencia CF president and management about signing Daniel Parejo.

Diego Simeone is said to be a big admirer of the player and is looking to strengthen the squad for the next season and has identified the central midfield as an area that could be improved over this season and thus comes Daniel Parejo. He has great passing ability, vision and ball possession abilities and has been one the best Valencia players this season, albeit with several big slip-ups's over the season.

Daniel Parejo currently has a contract with Valencia CF till June 2016 and his buyout clause is said to be around the 25 million euros region.

With Valencia CF out of any European competition next season and guaranteed to finishing disappointing mid table position this season, Parejo is likely to strongly consider moving on to Atletico Madrid especially if they come officially asking as the Primera Division champions and/or Champion League champions with a bigger and improved contract.

Diego Simeone knows his negotiating position is strong and has a big chance of succeeding of luring away Daniel Parejo away from Valencia CF, even if Valencia CF doesn't want to sell. Daniel Parejo can insist on a move away from Valencia CF and Valencia CF would be virtually incapable of doing anything about it, since the club policy is to always sell players who don't want to play for the club and Dani Parejo would certainly be perceived that way if he was to ask for a transfer move to Atletico Madrid.

The only thing that can save the situation with Parejo is if Valencia CF get a strong new owner who instantly invests in the club, covers the debt and opens the purse for strong summer signings. At that point Parejo might want to stay and be a part of a new project of team building and playing for future accolades.

Ever Banega and Dorlan Pabon on their way out?

Valencia CF is looking to rebuild in the summer and offload some of its "extra" players, trim the fat if you will and it looks like Ever Banega and Dorlan Pabon are the players who will be among the first on the exit door.

Ever Banega is failing in the Argentinian league and hasn't been performing well even at a lower level so he is likely to be sold as long as anyone dishes out 8 million euros for him, possibly even lower as management is aware that with his poor performances he isn't going to attract big money.

Dorlan Pabon is the second players who is most likely to leave in the summer as his performances in Brazil haven't been good and with Paco on the rise and Jonas as a cover with possibly one more new signing in the summer for the attacking position the club doesn't see Pabon fitting in the team.

Right now there is no suitors for Pabon, though Valencia CF has reduced its asking price and will listen to offers anywhere in the region of 4 to 5 million euros.

Adil Rami is basically certain to leave in the summer, there is no chance of him staying in Valencia CF and whether its AC Milan or other clubs the club is willing to offload him, though will look for offers in the region of 8 million euros and not lower. AC Milan right now is only willing to offer 6 million euros for the Frenchmen which is very low.

Filler stats

Hey I just want to clarify things that the players strengths and weaknesses in the player pages for Paco and Jonas were fillers and incorrect.

Here is the real for Jonas:

+ Strengths	- Weaknesses
Creativity Great	Consistency Poor
Vision Excellent	Strength Poor
Technique Good	Stamina Poor
	Shooting accuracy Poor

Here is the real for Paco:

+ Strengths	- Weaknesses
Youthful Great	Hesitant Poor
Explosiveness Good	Consistency Poor
Agile Good	Experience Terrible
Work rate Excellent

I have 8 more done, though unfortunately the ones for Canales, Rami, Guardado and Viera are likely to all fall off as Canales has already left and those three are likely to be sold in the summer.

I will be updating their pages right now with the correct tables.

Real Madrid 2-2 Valencia CF Match Report

Real Madrid were lucky to get one point tonight against Valencia CF, but unfortunately for Valencia the luck was on Real Madrid's side with a last minute equalizing goal.

I thought it would be a tougher match for Valencia CF and in my prediction in the match preview I even predicted a 2-1 loss to Real Madrid, but the team surprised me rather positively and almost won against Real Madrid at their home terrain.

The match started with Real Madrid exerting huge pressure in the first 10 minutes of the match, but after that Valencia CF came into its own element and the match became a lot more equal affair with both sides fighting for possession in the midfield and both sides having strides towards goal. In fact Cristiano Ronaldo has a good chance against Valencia CF which Diego Alves saved and on Valencia's side Daniel Parejo has a major chance to score while being left alone and plenty of time to set up for the header, but he headed the ball straight and Diego Lopez was able to punch the ball and save his goal.

As the game was progressing Valencia CF were having the better chances and more dangerous forward moves, Real Madrid might have been attacking more and having more shots, but Valencia's chances were really dangerous with Feghouli causing major problems for Madrid's defense on that right side all match long.

Just before half time Valencia CF got the lead through Jeremy Mathieu who sort of sneaked the ball past Real's defense after Parejo's corner kick. It was a strange header, very inconspicuous and sneaky.

In the second half there were attacks going on for both sides and Bale and Benzema has few decent shots on goal and Diego Alves made few very good saves to deny them and other Real Madrid players, in fact he was probably one of the best players on the field as of then.

Real Madrid would equalize in the 59th minute through Sergio Ramos, basically returning the favor to Mathieu and scoring a header after a short cross from the right side.

Valencia CF seemed devastated for a few minutes, but then the attacks increased as Keita was playing really well in midfield with Parejo and Feghouli was having good runs down the right with Joao as support. Through few attacks Valencia CF would put pressure on Real Madrid and this would allow Parejo to be allowed unmarked with the ball rebounding up to him he took the shot and scored.

Few substitutions later and Real Madrid were positioned aggressively in attack, while Pizzi making substitutions to refresh the team with Jonas replacing Paco. Jonas would do a lot of good, he was able to hold up the ball and link up with the other players.

Unfortunately for Valencia CF the referee awarded Real Madrid with 5 minutes of additional time and that was enough for them to score a goal. Valencia CF defense started to feel shaky towards the late game and once again Mathieu was the culprit, not blocking Cristiano Ronaldo well enough to prevent him from a weird back heel shot that went into the net.

Player Ratings:
Diego Alves 9 - Great display from the goalkeeper, making several great saves and keeping the result positive for Valencia CF.
Joao Pereira 7 - Not always very sound defensively, but he more than made up for it with his attacking forays and link up play with Feghouli.
R. Costa 7 - Won most of the challenges and was able to deny Ronaldo and Isco time and time again, was the strong link in defense.
Mathieu 5.5 - Wasn't good at all. Always shaky in defense, he seems slow, easy to outmaneuver and lost Ronaldo on few occasions the one costing Valencia the three points.
Bernat 6 - Was solid enough defensively though didn't venture forward as much as Joao did. Was out-jumped on several occasions though and shows his weakness in defense which is his short height.
Javi Fuego 5.5 - Was good defensively and worked really hard tonight, but not much more contribution.
Parejo 7 - Great passing ability and good creativity, was dampened by his terrible header that should have been goal, but made up for it by scoring later for a 2-1 lead for Valencia.
Keita 8 - Absolutely brilliant, reminiscent of his Barcelona performances when in his prime. Was all over the midfield, made several important tackles and blocks in defense and went forward to good extent and supported the attacking players. Really good in possession as well and linked up well with Parejo and Feghouli.
Feghouli 8 - Brilliant performance, gave Real Madrid defense headaches all match long and his runs from the wing were very dangerous and penetrative. Could have had few assists if Valencia CF players used their chances more.
Paco 6 - Good off ball movement and was in good positions, but he wasn't 100% ready, seemed a bit unconcentrated and slow to react, missing few good opportunities.
Vargas 6 - Similar presence as Paco though he was more aware and more concentrated, but lacked the good positioning that Paco had.
Subs:
Jonas 6 - Had several good moments after coming on, helped hold the ball up high and linked up well with the attack, being involved in few chances.
Ruben Vezo N/A - Not enough time
Barragan N/A - Not enough time

Real Madrid vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Real Madrid vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu

Date: 04.05.2014; 21:00 CET

36th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Carlo Ancelotti and Juan Antonio Pizzi

This has been one of the worst seasons for Valencia CF since I became a supporter in 1998, not even the Ronald Koeman era was this bad, in fact this could probably be the worst season Valencia has had in the past decade, if not more.

I admit when the team is playing bad and the results are terrible I tend to slowly but surely avoid watching matches, I was covering the season with great enthusiasm at the start, I think for about 3 months when the terrible showing was too much for me to stomach. Since then I've barely been posting on the blog and thanks to Amunt Valencia we've had some activity here, else the blog would have certainly died. So big thanks to Amunt Valencia for taking the time to keep you guys informed as much as he could. 

As the season is coming to an end though I'm getting optimistic for the next season, long ago I accepted the fact that this season is lost and that we are likely to fail and not get anything out of it and that is exactly what happened, but with the closing sale of the club with the new season looming I can't help but feel very optimistic about Valencia CF chances for next year. 

I've talked in a previous post about team building campaign and this is what next season is for, build a new team with the young players, mix it up with enough experience and reinforce with 1 or 2 key players in their prime at 25 to 27 years old and install a winning mentality and good team play. I believe our current coach Pizzi has the ability to do so, I really think he has the knowledge and experience to build a team and make them great. 

For the remainder of the season the team has to basically finish off the season, but this is an opportunity to start team building early. Since there is no pressure of losing anything or failing, we need to reevaluate the players and see how they cope. Real Madrid is a good opportunity to see the team's strengths and weaknesses, knowing Real Madrid just destroyed Bayern Munich 5-0 in the Champions League.

Until the end of the season Real Madrid also have a chance to win the Spanish Premier League title, even though Atletico Madrid is leading right now. There are 2/3/4 more matches to be played and anything can happen, so Real Madrid are still in the competition for the title. This win would be crucial for Real Madrid, its a must win match for them if they are to have any hopes of winning the title and can't allow themselves to fail.

Valencia CF on the other hand is playing for pride and nothing else, nothing to win or lose, though as Pizzi said the team has to leave the best impression and finish the season in style, the team mustn't disgrace itself and must play to win. 

Valencia CF squad: 

Goalkeepers: Guaita, Alves

Defenders: Joao Pereira, Barragán, Mathieu, Ricardo Costa, Vezo, Bernat

Midfielders: Parejo, Keita, Javi Fuego, Míchel, Feghouli, Fede

Strikers: Jonas, Vargas, Vinícius, Alcácer

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):

Formation: 4-4-2

Line-up: Alves; Barragan, R. Costa, Mathieu, Bernat; Keita, Parejo, Feghouli; Fede; Paco,Vargas.

Tactics: Low defensive line, own half pressure, high frequency wing attacks, mixed passing, double defensive line, offside trap

Result prediction:

Real Madrid 2-1 Valencia CF

As much as I would love for Valencia CF to get some good result against Real Madrid, the best option of winning, the realistic output is likely going to be a defeat. Real Madrid have the home advantage, most of their squad are fit and healthy and they have been playing some really good, really great football lately, plus are more rested that Valencia CF who played their match on Thursday.