Transfer news first:
Roberto Soldado was not in the tea or on the bench for Tottenham's 1-0 loss to Mancherster United yesterday, and in fact flew to Valencia (confirmed by a fan who snapped a photo of Soldado with his kids, saying Soldado was a "nice chap", which will be news to some of us who have been critical of him. No idea what this means other than the Spurs-Villarreal deal is not dead, but then we didn't expect it was.
My boys just met @R9Soldado at the airport. Nice chap!⚽️❤️ pic.twitter.com/NIBiool8Pj
— Matzai (@MatB_STFC69) August 8, 2015
Martin Odegaard will most likely remain with Real Madrid but play for RM Castilla rather than be loaned out, per MARCA.
We are pursuing Spanish youth international Dani Molina, currently with Recreativo Huelva, and are also looking at Ponferradina's Ruben Sobrino, another U-19 international.
Today's friendlies:
Sassuolo v Villarreal -- this will be streamed on the official website, though probably only in Spain; however, that should mean there will be a stream available. If anyone finds a good one and is able to watch, comment below. EPM says there's nothing wrong with Baptistao, Marce is just rotating players. We should see Areola in goal for the entire match, since Barbosa played the last one. (game time: 2:30 PM eastern US)
Real Madrid Castilla v Villarreal B: This is being shown by Real Madrid TV so again, there should be streams available if you want to check that out. (I believe this starts 30 minutes before the first team match).
Enjoy the day! Endavant Villarreal.