Wholesale striker changes for Villarreal?

EPM's Raul Badenes is reporting today that Villarreal is looking to bring in two new strikers, and that being so, we shouldn't be surprised if three of the four strikers we had this year could move on.  Gio isn't expected to leave unless the World Cup results in some great offer, but as for the other three....

Jony Pereira could be the toughest to move, because he has a contract that runs until 2017 and also his goalscoring record is middling at best.  It's possible Celta Vigo could be interested, and since he's from Galicia that ought to be a nice move for him.  We are nosing around Celta's midfielder, Augusto Fernández, so maybe we could include Jony as part of that deal.

Jeremy Perbet is under contract until 2016, but his goalscoring success wherever he's featured might make him a transfer target--Badenes says Monterrey (Tigres) have already made some inquiries.  As Sid and I commented in the last podcast, it's a tough decision, because Perbet can score some incredibly nifty goals--but he also might not fit the type of team Marcelino is trying to put together, and he certainly had matches where he made no impact.

Ike Uche has only one more year on his current deal, so logically could bring some interest.  Again as we said, he works very hard to run into spaces and open things up for other people, and so what if many of his goals were tapped home--they all count.  But how do you look at his career?  This is the first season he scored in double digits in the Primera--then again, he had a better supporting cast around him than at Recre or Granada.  And there is the matter of two knee injuries which wrecked his career with Zaragoza.  So do you look at the 2013-14 season and say it's a one-off, or does Uche--at age 30--have two or three more years of 12-15 goals in him?

And what to do with Gerard Moreno?  He certainly has earned a chance with the first team, after scoring 11 times in 31 matches for Mallorca, not exactly a club with a lot of talent surrounding him.   He has scored at every level.  But it makes no sense to keep him and then not let him get playing time.

The big rumor as to who might be coming in?  Álvaro Morata, from Real Madrid.  It would be a loan, of course, but supposedly Madrid has agreed this with Sr. Roig, pending Morata agree to a contract extension (his current deal runs until June 2015).   A loan could make sense from Madrid's point of view, I suppose, if he is not going to see a lot of playing time there.  He only played 578 minutes in the Primera this season, and scored 8 goals.  A great talent, Spain international, etc.--we shall see.