In my previous post I mentioned that the arrival of Ibagaza is looking likelier by the day. Let's take a closer look at the man who may be donning yellow next season.
It was ten years ago when El Cano first arrived from Spain at the age of 22. That was following four successful years at Lanus and also during that time he was on the Argentine side that won the U-20 World Cup. He settled in quickly at Mallorca and spent the next five seasons there. A diminutive playmaker Ibagaza likes to play quite deep where he can dictate the game and where he has the room to pick out his killer passes. Indeed that is his greatest strength, 15 assists last season in La Liga, he was the one providing Dani Guiza with the ammunition. His good performances at Mallorca attracted the attention of Atletico Madrid and they signed him in the summer of 2003. He was never a great success at El Calderon. He did not suit Atleti's style of play and although he racked up a good number of appearances he was never a really crucial part of the team.
So after 3 years in Madrid he returned to Mallorca and immediately picked up where he left off. Contributing goals and assists he earned the captaincy and is very popular at the ONO Estadi.
Now it looks like he will be joining the rest of Pellegrini's charges for next season. In my opinion it's a great signing, 1 Million Euro's for a player who is coming off his best ever season, who is proven in La Liga, who will provide valuable experience and most of all who has the ability to fit into a team like ours.
It looks like the deal will be completed in the next few days and I will be very happy with the final squad if this one goes through.
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