Piling up the signings Villarreal added 22-year old Mexican winger, Javier Aquino from Cruz Azul on a 3.5 year deal. This is a coup of sorts as Aquino is considered to be one of the brightest prospects coming out of México. He has 10 caps with the Méxican national team. We will add a detailed report soon.
In other news
1. Cavenaghi has left Villarreal and signed with Pachuca. We wish him well in Liga MX
2. Gerard Bordas has been loaned out to Girona. I am not a big fan of us sending players to direct rivals but with the rash of new signings we needed to offload a few.8
Arrivals so far
1.Farinos
2. Jony Pereira
3. Chechu Dorado
4. Juanma Gomez
5. Jérémy Perbet
6. Javier Aquino
7. Aitor Fernandez
Departures so far
1. Toribio
2. Pandiani
3. Cavenaghi
4.Bordas
Villarreal sign French striker Jérémy Perbet on loan with an option to buy
As reported on the official website, Villarreal have signed French striker Jeremy Perbet on loan from Belgian club Mons until the end of the season, with an option to make the deal permanent. There is a video of him scoring goals up there too, and watching it, it is easy to see how he could fit into the kind of Villarreal attacking style we saw today. He "knows where the net is" and can finish. Plus, he stays on side! (at least in the video!)
I found an interesting interview with him by a French football magazine. By way of background, he played in the French lower divisions, making news with 23 goals in the 2005-06 season for AC Moulins, who were nonetheless relegated (to the French fourth level). He went to Strasbourg in the second division, didn't do much, went on loan to Angers, didn't do much, then in 2008 headed to Belgium where he has been since.
His current club, Mons (or Bergen, depending on which official Belgian language you speak) won promotion in 2010-11 with him, last year finished mid-table, where they are again. In the interview he says he thought he might have made a move in the summer of 2012. Parma were interested, but Mons wanted €2.5m, and Parma thought that was a lot to pay for someone who would be new to Italian football and Serie A.
Jérémy is a native of central France, and so when Sochaux appeared interested, he was excited--but nothing concrete came about. In the interview he comes across as a very thoughtful guy, says he understands being a professional much more now than he did when younger. He wasn't expecting any big move in this transfer window.
Without seeing him play (other than the video of his goals), I think this is a potentially excellent move. There is very little downside--it is a loan with an option to buy--but he has a real incentive to perform well, especially if we can get back to La Liga.
He does not have experience of Spanish football, but he said his playing style would fit well in Italy so I have to think it might work well here. He also, for what it is worth, grew up in a small town, and started out with local clubs, so I think Villarreal's history, style, and small-town feel might appeal to him there too. One thing is for sure, if he can pump in some goals for us, he is going to be the toast of the town.
Bienvenue, Jérémy!!