:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46871730/17112029631_81f6bfd874_z.0.0.jpg)
Latest news:
The most firm news is Aleix Garcia is leaving, snapped up by Manchester City for €3m plus appearance bonuses and given a five-year contract (and I am sure much higher wages than Villarreal could provide). This is going to be a continuing problem for Spanish clubs, as EPL teams have so much money these days. Aleix had been in Villarreal's cantera since age 7 (and was one of Thomas McIlroy's English students, besides!!). We wish Aleix well, hope he returns in yellow at some point. (Interestingly, this was first reported on twitter by one of Villarreal's young fans, and was discounted by most; guess there was an inside source, probably Aleix himself?)
It also appears Villarreal have a new striker, Cedric Bakambu. At least, he tweeted this:
Bursaspor geldiğim günden beri bana aile gibi oldu ama hayallerimde ve gonlumde İspanya'nda oynamak var #ThankGod pic.twitter.com/Igq8eOcYyP
— Bakambu Cédric (@Bakambu94) July 31, 2015
I have to say I'm pretty impressed that he has picked up enough Turkish in his couple of years in Bursaspor to regularly tweet in it--Google Translate says it says something like Bursaspor has been a family to me, etc. but now I am heading for a new adventure in Spain. Since we know Villarreal had reached agreement with him on a contract and the only sticking point was negotiations between the clubs, it sure looks like he's coming here.
Roberto Soldado wants to come to Villarreal, that's clear. Wages appear to be the main sticking point but apparently there is a potential workaround in the form of performance bonuses and the like, which would be nice. We hope to be getting the Soldado who performed so well for Getafe and Valencia--he's still only 30--but if he signs a 3-4 year deal, it's unlikely we will be getting much of a transfer fee if we sell him on at some point. It's a big gamble. The best would of course be a loan with an option to buy after the year is up, but that is not going to make Spurs management happy.
Denis Cheryshev: there is a Managing Madrid report that Liverpool have offered to buy him, but their source is the Sun, not exactly the best source. It's clear Denis is not going to have many chances at Madrid, so we continue to be optimistic a loan to Villarreal again will make sense.