Fede renews contract with Valencia CF

The youngster Fede who came in from the B team to train with the first squad this preseason has really impressed everyone in Valencia CF, from the staff to the coach and as such Valencia CF decided to offer him a new improved contract that would keep him with Valencia CF till 2017.

As you know Valencia CF has lost several youth players, most importantly Isco for not offering them better contracts with high release clauses, so they obviously didn't want to repeat the same mistake with Fede.

I'd say he is one of the most prospering youngsters in the squad, his pace, shooting ability and composure for such an inexperienced and young player are tremendous. If he can just be consistent he can easily displace some established first team players and bench them.

In the Market for Firepower!!! (Updated again)

With Soldado nearing his exit, Valencia are in the market for replacements. It has been said that Valencia will get two new strikers, think of it as replacing each of Nelson Valdez and Soldado. The problem is everyone else is also looking for strikers and everyone is raising prices to protect their strikers. Long-time Valencia target Kevin Gameiro signed for Sevilla recently, further reducing our options. Brazilian and Fluminese striker Fred is seemingly in the process of renewing his contract and expressed his desire to stay in Brazil to give him a better chance of making the World Cup squad.  A bid for Atletico Madrid's Adrian was rejected recently. And lastly, Pablo Osvaldo has rejected a move. The following is a current list of strikers who are linked with Valencia this past week.

Candidates to replace Nelson Valdez:

1. Helder Postiga: The 30-year old Portuguese and Real Zaragoza striker is looking for a new club following the relegation of Real Zaragoza. He seems the most likely to come in and is expected within the next few days after ascertaining the departure of Soldado. Some reports say an agreement has already been established. He has 23 goals in 70 games for Zaragoza and 26 goals in 61 games for Portugal.

Price: 3-4 million euros
Competition: Malaga (Spain)

2. Sergio Garcia de la Fuente: He was wanted by Sevilla until they signed Kevin Gameiro. He has 15 goals in 73 appearances for Espanyol.

Price: 3-4 million euros
Competition: None

3. Marco Borriello: His current club, Roma, has no future plans for the 31-year old and did not include him in the pre-season. He has 11 goals in 47 games for Roma.

Price: 7 million euros
Competition: Malaga (Spain)



Candidates to replace Soldado:

1. Javier Hernandez: The 25 year old Mexican international had a successful season for Manchester United despite being at the bottom of the pecking order behind Rooney and Van Persie. He scored 33 goals in 77 games for Manchester United and 35 goals in 53 games for Mexico. With Guardado to help in convincing him, there is a good chance of signing him, however due to his high price a loan deal is most likely. In addition, it depends on whether or not Rooney leaves since that will give him an idea of the playing time he will be getting.

Price: 22 million euros
Competition: None

2. Olivier Giroud. The 26 year-old French international also had a very good season playing for Arsenal. Since Arsenal has been trying to buy a new striker, Luis Suarez, there has been concern over how much playing time he will get. He has 11 goals in 34 appearances for Arsenal as well as 3 goals in 19 games for France.

Price: 16 million Euros
Competition: None

3. Fernando Torres: The 29-year old Spanish striker hasn't lived up to expectations at Chelsea, and with the club set to buy Wayne Rooney, Torres could be looking for a way out. Valencia have expressed their interest to the player's agents and are apparently willing to spend no more than 29 million euros on the striker (Soldado will be sold of 30 million). If this transfer was to go through Villa and Torres would've switched clubs in which they recognized. Torres has shown sparks of his old self at times and is said to be regaining his form. He was the top scorer in Euro 2012 and The 2013 Fifa Confederations Cup. He has 15 goals in 82 for Chelsea and 36 goals in 106 for Spain.

Price: 23 million euros
Competition: Barcelona (Spain), Liverpool (England)

4. Salomon Kalou: The 27 year-old Ivorian currently plays for Lille. With a release clause of only about 3.5 million euros, West Ham have triggered it and are in the process of convincing the player. However, reports state that Valencia are trying to snatch the player away from their grasp. He has 14 goals in 28 games for Lille and 21 goals in 57 games for Ivory Coast.

Price: 3.5 million euros
Competition: West Ham United (England)

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!!

Soldado To Tottenham done deal

The inevitable moment has occurred. We were bound to lose our star player as we have done the past few years losing the likes of Villa, Silva, Mata, Isco and Alba. Now its Soldado's turn. Despite Amadeo not budging from the 30 million euro release clause, it's happened. A few days ago Soldado reportedly handed in a transfer request to the club meaning he will accept the transfer. At first Tottenham were reluctant to pay the amount but after the AC Milan game there were more talks. Cadena SER, a Spanish media source, announced that an agreement has been reached and that amount will be paid.  The only thing that remains, other than Soldado's signature, is deciding the method of payment which is likely to be 2 lump sums of 15 million euros, one now and the other after August the 3rd. However, this matter is trivial and shouldn't take that long to solve.

It's no secret that Soldado is Valencia's best player and any striker to replace him will have to fill a huge gap. Soldado has been a leader at Valencia and was our main and, sometimes, only threat. His absence was noted in the Milan game but as the coach has said, Valencia is beyond any one player and that the club's greatness lies in its ability to be consistent even after losing top players. Whether you agree with that or not, sulking about it won't help and Valencia will have to move on as usual. Wish Soldado all the best, good luck and thanks for everything.

Here is a video of Soldado's 2012-2013 season to remember the great year he had for Valencia. This video is not mine but all credit goes to ScoutNation.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!! GRACIAS SOLDADO!!!!

Valencia CF 1-2 AC Milan Match Report

The first win eludes Valencia again in this pre-season under new coach Miroslav Djukic. Los Che played an amazing game but were just short by losing 1-2 to AC Milan at the Mestalla. The coach expressed earlier that the pre-season consisted of "experiments" and that the game against Milan will show the difference and indeed it did despite the result.

Miroslav Djukic re-introduced Rami into the starting line-up this game despite the transfer speculation and some controversial comments surrounding the player. Mathieu was reverted back to his left-back position. Valencia started the game with good pressing and maintaining possession of the ball. Mathieu was causing several problems for the opposing defense with his usual forward runs and crosses. However, at around 19 minutes into the game, a Milan attack found Guaita making an unnecessary tackle and the referee awarded a penalty to Milan. Fortunately, Guaita made up for his mistake by saving Robinho's penalty and Rami quickly put the ball out. However, Robinho also made up for his mistake two minutes later when a through ball found him at the edge of the penalty box and he managed to slot it past Guaita. There was chances for both sides till the 39th minute when a failed clearance by Feghouli found a Milan player who laid it off for De Jong who stunned everyone by scoring from outside the box to the top-left of Guaita.

The second half featured a goal-keeping change followed by almost complete Valencia domination in terms of possession and chances. This paid off in the 53rd minute when Jonas brilliantly lobbed the ball over the Milan defence which Alcacer controlled and then set up Dani Parejo who had no trouble beating the keeper at that range. The coach then made a couple of substitutions bringing on youngsters Michel, Viera, Bernat and Guardado. However Guardado was immediately injured and substituted for youngster Fede. After the goal, Fede and Bernat caused all sorts of problems for the Milan defense. Valencia created chances up to the last minute of added time (4 minutes) but missed some close chances.

The absence of Soldado as well as the dependence on him were felt in this game. Alcacer seemed shaky the whole game and only gained confidence after his assist which is a positive. The midfield also is taking part in the offensive, getting in some shots on goal. The coach demonstrated something important in this game which is that Valencia can compete against bigger sides.  In fact, Valencia deserved the win without a doubt but it wasn't meant to be. Despite being a friendly both sides gave it their all. I think Mathieu, Banega, Rami, Bernat and Fede showed great promise in this game. On the other hand, Guaita was the flop for me. This team has shown tremendous improvement and I think will have a great season. You can see the highlights below (provided by VCF Play).

* means substituted out/in

Valencia CF (1): Guaita*, Joao, Rami, Costa, Mathieu*, Banega*, Parejo*, Fuego*, Jonas*, Feghouli, Alcacer
Substitutions: Diego Alves*, Barragan, V.Ruiz, Cissokho, Fede*, Michel*, Romeu*, Viera*, Bernat*

AC Milan (2): Abbiati*, Constante, Mexes, Bonerta, Antonini, Nocerino*, Robinho*, De Jong*, Boateng, Poli, Petegna*
Substitutions: Gabriel*, Zaccardo, Niang, El Shaarawy*, Cristante*, Muntari*, Emanuelson*

Highlights: Valencia 1-2 AC Milan Match Highlights

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!

Soldado to transfer to Tottenham FC

Valencia CF striker Roberto Soldado is almost certain to transfer to Tottenham Hotspur FC after a long and drawn out saga. Tottenham are said to be desperate and don't want to lose to Liverpool FC on Soldado, as that will put the management in hot water with the fans and thus since the disagreement with Valencia CF is only over 5 million euros, they are willing to pay the 30 million buyout clause.

The striker has accepted Tottenham personal terms and will be one of the highest paid players in Tottenham, earning in the range of 5 million euros per season, way above the 2.5 million euros Roberto Soldado gets at Valencia CF right now.

So unless there is some last minute change of plans, expect Valencia CF to lose Roberto Soldado and as we've written so far Valencia CF have few replacements lined up in Fred, Postiga and few others.

Is there life after Soldado? Possibly, but it will all depend on which reinforcement/s we bring in. I'd like Roberto Soldado to stay obviously, he still has at least 3 more years of top level performances, at the very least I'd like him to stay this season, but right now he is 99% likely to leave.

Valencia CF vs AC Milan Match Preview

Tomorrow Valencia CF will meet AC Milan at the Mestalla stadium in a preseason tournament that includes the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, Chelsea FC, etc... This will be the first match of the tournament and in order for Valencia CF to go through they would need to beat AC Milan as its an elimination tournament, instead of group stages and should Valencia CF win they will face the winner of the match between Chelsea FC and Inter Milan.

The previous three preseason friendlies didn't go Valencia's way even even though one may say the new coach Djukic was testing stuff and trying out different strategies, its still negative to loose or only manage to draw especially against considerably weaker opponents.

Tomorrow night is the important test though and we'll see how good or bad Valencia CF really is. We'll see if this team can compete for Champions League spot or if the team is doomed to being mediocre with the terrible financial situation it is in.

Of course if Roberto Soldado is sold in the next couple of days, that would be another big blow to Valencia CF who so far has failed to bring in any really solid reinforcement to an already quite weak team, that only managed Europa league last season. So losing Soldado would be huge and something the team may not recover from, especially since he is one of the best strikers out there, certainly in the top 10 in the world and a very experienced striker at that as well.

I don't know what to expect from the match, the coach has said he will field a strong starting eleven and won't make too many changes in the course of the match, so I'm expecting them to play 100% to their ability, the question is, is that good enough?

If I had to analyse things the team is pretty much the same from last year, with Albelda and Tino leaving, while Javi Fuego and Michel arriving, I think its a decent exchange of players that doesn't make us weaker, as Javi Fuego even though he lacks experience, he is younger than Albelda and can give us more in terms of field coverage and playing time.

From the strikers only Nelson Valdez left and we may be lacking a ready replacement for Soldado, but at some point we either have to trust in Paco or just sell him or loan him again.

So I'd say we are quite equal in terms of skill, question is whether that is enough and if the team can actually challenge the bigger teams.

Pablo Piatti to leave Valencia CF

Pablo Piatti is set to leave Valencia CF and right now has three interested parties in French Stade Rennais, and two Spanish clubs that want to get him on a one year loan. Valencia CF president wants to sell Piatti so he can get the money and of course balance the budget, but at the same time he is reducing the quality and quantity of the squad.

I mean Pablo Piatti may not have turned out the second Messi fans hoped he will, but he hasn't been a complete disappointment either and I don't think we need to get rid of him this easily.

Chances are that Pablo Piatti will leave if Valencia CF reaches an agreement over the transfer fee with Stade Rennais.