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EPM and others this morning are reporting Gio dos Santos could be on his way to the USA, to play for the LA Galaxy. Villarreal would receive €7 million if this transfer goes ahead. Apparently this offer has been out there for a while, but with Gio not being a regular starter for us last year (and having a poor season) we may be willing to accept it.
His brother could be moving on as well--Villarreal would like to keep him but Jona would prefer to play in center midfield, not on the wing. However, no offer has come in yet that works for Jona, much less Villarreal. We'll just have to see what happens.
And a new rumor...Funes Mori (River Plate).
BTW, Malaga just signed Charles from Celta--not sure if that makes the Acosta loan rumor more or less likely. Charles only netted three times last season, so maybe a change of scenery will help.
Also, news that Victor Ruiz is a Villarreal player. No word on his new salary, but Valencia agreed we could pay €2.7m for him plus €300,000 in "easy-to-achieve" variables (presumably, games played and/or started). Meanwhile, Valencia appears to be in some internal uproar, with rumors President Salvo and sporting director Rufete could be leaving, upset at the way superagent Mendes and coach Nuno are doing things. The final straw may have been a move for Rodrigo Caio, which broke down when he couldn't pass his Valencia medical (three times, apparently) but has subsequently passed one at Atletico Madrid. Well, at least Los Che are a little closer to balancing the books now.
Also, a (controversial) thorn in Villarreal's side is departing La Liga-- Sergio Garcia is moving from Espanyol to a club in Qatar. Why controversial? Because while an outstanding player on a mediocre side, he's been linked with various match-fixing controversies--in fact, at the end of the 2014 season La Liga hired private detectives to spy on him. Guess he is getting out of Spain while the getting is good.
Over 3000 renewed their season tickets in the first week of the campaign; Sr. Roig agreed to continue the youth cards for one more season, which seemed to resolve most of the controversy we'd reported on earlier.