Hélder Postiga is Roberto Soldado replacement?

Reports from Portugal claim that Hélder Postiga has reached personal agreement with Valencia CF and the two clubs are also very close reaching agreement over his transfer fee in the region of 3-4 million euros, so he can instantly replace Roberto Soldado if he transfers to Tottenham.

Obviously another player for the race for Soldado is Liverpool who are likely to lose Luis Suarez and would want to bring the best possible replacement for him, but right now Tottenham are in the front seat to sign Roberto Soldado and reports from England are coming out that the player and Tottenham have reached a personal agreement.

From what I can gather Roberto Soldado is very close to leaving and transferring to Tottenham and both clubs are now negotiating over the transfer fee, with Tottenham only willing to pay 25 million euros in three parts, while Valencia CF have offered 4 parts over a period of 2 years, but for 30 million euros.

Valencia line up Fred as Soldado replacement!!!

Valencia have recently rejected second bid from English club Tottenham which was said to be around €26 M plus €4 M add ons. Valencia do not want to part company with their star striker but as there is release clause in his contract ,if triggered Valencia can do nothing but accept the offer.
Valencia president ,Amadeo Salvo  has said time and again that Valencia are not willing to sell Soldado below his Release clause. Liverpool and Tottenham are really intetested in signing the player. There is a report that both the clubs are willing to pay the release clause. So Valencia are now looking for alternatives.
Fluminense hitman Fred has been seen as a ideal replacement for Spanish goal machine. Fred has experience of playing in Europe. He played for French club Lyon between 2005-2009.
It is unclear how much Fluminese would ask for the 29 year old striker but he would not cost much. He would be afforfable, if Valencia really want to sign him. He is also a target of Tottenham.
He came into light in last confederation cup, where he helped Brazil win the cup. He scored in the final against Spain and also won Silver Boot.
He is known for his physicality and eye for goal.

Tottenham send director to Valencia for Soldado

Tottenham's technical director has been sent to Valencia to discuss a move for Soldado. With three clubs now (Napoli, Tottenham and Liverpool) all willing and able to pay the clause, they are now trying to edge each other and win the race for Soldado. It's unclear yet whether Soldado would agree to any deal or remain at the club. However, the club has set August 3rd as a deadline for Soldado's transfer to pressure clubs to act decisively and give Valencia enough time to re-invest the money.

In other news, Valencia's Plan B for Soldado now includes bringing in, not one, but two strikers to replace Soldado. I already mentioned 30 year-old Helder Postiga of Real Zaragoza being one of the strikers. It appears that 26 year-old Kevin Gameiro of PSG will be the second. Other names are Hugo Almeida (Besiktas, 29 years old) and Lucas Barrios (Guangzhou, 28 years old).

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Cissokho to be loaned to Liverpool

I have said before that Cissokho was the target of many transfer rumours. Liverpool has stepped up their chase for the Valencia left-back and appear likely to get him on loan for a season. That's not all, Valencia will be kind enough to include a purchase option valued between $3-5 million euros. Cissokho has expressed his desire to stay a while back but the club appears willing to let him go.

For those who don't remember, Cissokho was purchased from Lyon for $4 million. He hasn't had many starts under Valverde which may have frustrated him. However, what is Valencia doing? The few times he has played, he has impressed. A great player who is very strong offensively and adds aggressiveness to the defense when he does get back. But if he leaves, we have 3 options to fill that spot: Bernat (recently converted to left-back by Spain U-20), Guardado or Mathieu. I can't comment on Bernat because I haven't seen him play that position. As for Guardado, I never liked his play especially as a left-back, it simply doesn't suit him. With Mathieu being used as a central defender, who is left? We will have to loan or buy a new left-back (which is what the club is planning to do) which will cost us about the same amount. And a purchase option that might be less than what we paid for him?  Look at Chelsea, they wouldn't give up Romeu except if the deal didn't include a purchase option despite the player being injured and not being used by the club. We're being far too lenient on the transfer market.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Valencia line up replacements

Many Valencia players have been linked away from Valencia due to its financial situation. The names that appear often are those of Soldado, Cissokho and Rami. Despite the first two expressing their desire to stay, Valencia have line up their replacements which signals either a doubt of their desire to stay or it shows the club's willingness to let them go. We'll see which one it is soon.

You may remember 24-year old Didac Vila from last year. He is currently on loan at Espanyol from AC Milan and plays left-back. He was originally the one to replace Jordi Alba and was all set for a loan move at the club last year. However, he failed his medical test and the loan move fell apart. Now Valencia line him as the replacement for Cissokho.

As for Soldado, the plan B is 30 year old Helder Postiga of Real Zaragoza. He currently has 23 goals in 70 games for Zaragoza and 26 goals in 61 games for Portugal. Despite having a wealth of experience at club and international level, he is a step down from Soldado. In addition, even if he succeeds, he is past the prime of his career and it won't be very long till we have to search for another striker.


What do you guys think of these two players as replacements? Good idea? Bad idea?


AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Napoli join race for Soldado

There have been a lot of interested clubs for Valencia's star player, Roberto Soldado. Up until now, most of the interest came from the English Premier League, specifically Liverpool and Tottenham, who in recent days expressed readiness to paying Soldado's termination clause of 30 million euros (expected very soon). Now Serie A club, Napoli, under the former Valencia coach, Rafael Benitez, has also joined the race for Soldado. Napoli has recently sold their ace striker, Edison Cavani, to the wealthy PSG for 63 million euros. As such, Napoli need a proven goal scorer to replace Cavani and their interest has found Soldado. With the cash that they just got, they have more than enough money to pay the buyout clause and an urgent need as well since the gap felt by Cavani is a big one and top strikers are being taken by other clubs.

So now, there are three clubs that might pay the clause and are able to do so. Only Napoli is in the Champions League between these clubs which may provide an extra incentive for Soldado. We stated time and time again that Soldado is our key player and that it is about time we keep our players. However, upon paying the buyout clause, the decision falls upon the player not the club. Let's hope his heart is in Valencia and not elsewhere.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!

VFB Stuttgart 1-0 Valencia CF Match Report

The third pre-season game and the final one in Germany ended in 1-0 loss. As with the first two games, the game there was plenty of positive play but with no result.

The first half began with rather sluggish play from Valencia. A defensive error in the 2nd minute of the game resulted in a corner. Stuttgart's Schwaab leaped, unchallenged, and thumped his header into the top-left corner past Guaita. After the goal, Valencia dominated possession and took control of the game with most of the play coming from the left flank where Cissokho and Piatti combined with Viera to create chances. The first real chance of the game for Valencia came at the 40th minute where a quick counter-attack left Stuttgart exposed at the back and needing to defend a 3 v 1 attack. However, a foul was forced resulting in a free kick which Viera took very well only to be saved by the opposing keeper.

The second half featured a full team substitution for Valencia. This half, more of the play came from the right flank where Feghouli made his presence felt right away. This gave him several chances at goal which he shot wide. Other notable players were Romeu and Michel who controlled the midfield. In the latter part of the second half, Stuttgart dominated and tested Alves a several times and came close to a second goal a few times.

The work Djukic is putting in is showing as the team has a more positive style of play. However, the main problem of attack remains with a few defensive errors to work out as well.

VFB Stuttgart (1): Ulreich, Saikai, Schwaab, Neidermeier, Rausch, Geutner, Boka, Maxim, Tornn, Ibisevic, Sararer
Substitutions: Kirschbann, Werner, Fasci, Rudiger, Leitner, Molinaro, Krist, Kheidera, Abdellaone, Traore, Hajnal   

Valencia CF (0): Guatia, Periera, R.Costa, Mathieu, Cissokho, Fede, Fuego, Parejo, Viera, Piatti, Alcacer.
Substitutions: Alves, Barragan, Rami, Delgado, V.Ruiz, S.Ruiz, Banega, Romeu, Michel, Feghouli, Jonas

A lot of promise has been shown over the past three games in Germany despite the results. Hopefully, we will see the improvement in a week's time against Milan where the full squad is available and the changes are made.

Match Highlights

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!