LA LIGA SUMMER TRANSFERS 2010/2011

Now the World Cup is done and dusted expect teams across La Liga to part with some serious cash as they seek to bolster their squads ready for the start of the 2010/2011 season. There had been a few transfers before the South African showpiece, David Villa and Fran Merida among them, with Real Madrid now clicking into gear with the recent signings of Angel Di Maria, Pedro Leon and Sami Khedira. With Barca having signed Adriano from Sevilla and still chasing Cesc Fabregas and Real Madrid in the hunt for Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil there promises to be a few more big money signings before the start of the season. It's been rather quiet on the Sevilla, Atletico and Valencia front, although yesterday did see Valencia part with around €4 million to sign Aritz Aduriz as they seek to replace the unreplaceable, Mr Villa. And of course it's out with the old as we welcome in the new. Thierry Henry has already sealed a move to New York as he winds down his career with Guti (Turkey?) and Raul (United States/Saudi Arabia/Premiership?!) expected to follow suit in the coming days.

A couple of Liga transfers that raised my eyebrows were those of Yaya Toure and David Silva, both off to Manchester City in the Premiership. In the case of David Silva I see it as a total waste of talent. Should have stayed in Spain where they'll nurture that fantastic talent. Many here are likening it to the transfer of Gaizka Mendieta who went to England and his career spiralled out of control.  As for Yaya Toure, I had thought they had made a massive blunder letting the big man go, but after the form of Sergio Busquets in the World Cup, I've changed my mind!

Nowhere near as active as the famous Florentino summer of 2009. Will we ever see another summer like it? Doubtful.

ALMERIA:
In: Leonardo Ulloa (€900k, CD Castellon), Michael Jakobsen, Aalborg BK), Miguel Angel Luque (free, Barcelona), Diego Valeri (loan, FC Porto), Marcelo Silva (€1.3m, Danubio)

Out: Domingo Cosma (Free, Racing Santander), Fernando Soriano (Free, Osasuna), Natalio Lorenzo (free, Tenerife), Guilherme Oliveira (loan, Albacete), David Rodriguez (free, Celta Vigo), Chico (€5m, Genoa)


ATHLETIC BILBAO:

In: Mikel San Jose (€2.74m, Liverpool), Igor Martinez (€200k, Alaves), Ibai Gomez (Free, Sestao River Club), Xabier Etxeita (Recalled Loan, FC Cartagena), Raul Fernandez (Recalled Loan, Granada CF)

Out: Julen Goni (Loan Signing, Barakaldo CF), Xabier Etxeita (Free, Elche), Iban Zubiaurre (Loan Signing, Albacete), Inaki Munoz (free, FC Cartagena), Ander Murillo (free, Celta Vigo)

ATLETICO MADRID:

In: Fran Merida (free, Arsenal), Mario Suarez (€1.8m, Mallorca), Keko Gontan (Recalled Loan, Valladolid), Roberto Batres (Recalled Loan, Shanghai Shenhua), Filipe Luis (€12m, Deportivo La Coruna), Diego Godin (€8m, Villarreal), Tiago Mendes (loan, Juventus)


Out: Roberto Jimenez (€8.5m, Benfica), Ruben Perez (loan, Deportivo La Coruna), Cedric Mabwati (free, CD Numancia), Jorge Molino (loan, Real Murcia), Leandro Cabrera (loan, Recreativo Huelva), Eduardo Salvio (loan, Benfica), Ibrahima Balde (loan, Albacete), Jurado (€7 Schalke 04)

BARCELONA:

In: David Villa (€40m, Valencia), Henrique (Recalled Loan, Racing Santander), Adriano (€10m, Sevilla), Javier Mascherano (€17.5m, Liverpool)

Out: Alberto Botia (Free, Sporting Gijon), Yaya Toure (€34m, Manchester City), Dmytro Chygrynskiy (€15m, Shakhtar Donetsk), Keirrison (Loan Signing, Santos FC), Thierry Henry (Free, New York Red Bulls), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (€17m AC Milan)


DEPORTIVO LA CORUÑA:

In: Michel Herrero (Loan Signing, Valencia), Yves Desmarets (Free, Vitoria Guimaraes), Jonathan Urretavizcaya (Loan Signing, Benfica), Stopira (Free, C.D. Santa Clara), Ruben Perez (loan, Atletico Madrid), Felipe Ramos (free, Real Madrid Castilla), Claudio Morel Rodriguez (free, Boca Juniors), Knut Olav Rindarey (loan, Molde FK)


Out: Brayan Angulo (Recalled Loan, Leixoes), Mista (Free, Toronto FC), Rodolfo Bodipo (Loan Signing, FC Vaslui), Alex Bergantinos (Loan Signing, Granada CF), Filipe Luis (€12m, Atletico Madrid), Sergio Gonzalez (free, Levante), Ivan Perez (loan, SD Ponferradina), Jairo Alvarez (free, CF Palencia), Ruben Castro (€1.5m, Real Betis)

ESPANYOL:

In: Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (Extended Loan, Bologna), Gregory Beranger (loan return, UD Las Palmas), Valdo (Recalled Loan, Malaga), Milan Smiljanic (Recalled Loan, Sporting Gijon), Jesus Datolo (Loan Signing, Napoli), Felipe Mattioni (free, Mallorca), Sergio Garcia (€1.8m, Real Betis)


Out: Gregory Beranger (Free, Elche), Fernando Marques (loan, Parma), Ben Sahar (loan, Hapoel Tel Aviv), Milan Smiljanic (loan, FK Partizan), Angel Martinez (loan, Girona FC), Nicolas Pareja (€10m, Spartak Moscow), Roman Martinez (loan, UANL Tigres), Valdo (free, Levante), Moises Hurtado (€2m, Olympiakos)

GETAFE:

In: Borja Fernandez (Free, Valladolid), Ivan Marcano (Loan Signing, Villarreal), Franck Signorino (Recalled Loan, FC Cartagena), Pedro Mosquera (Free, Real Madrid), Adrian Colunga (€2m, Recreativo Huelva), Victor Sanchez (loan, Barcelona)

Out: Joffre Guerron (€1.2m, CA Paranaense), Pedro Leon (€10m, Real Madrid), Miguel Pallardo (loan, Levante), David Belenguer (free, Real Betis), David Cortez (free, Hercules), Kepa Blanco (free, Recreativo Huelva), Adrian Gonzalez (free, Racing Santander), Roberto Soldado (€10m, Valencia)

HERCULES:

In: Olivier Thomert (Free, Le Mans), Matias Fritzler (loan, Lanus), Abel Aguilar (€1.5m, Udinese), David Cortez (free, Getafe), Cristian Pulhac (loan, Dinamo Bucharest), Nelson Valdez (€3.8m, Borussia Dortmund), Mohamed Sarr (€300k, Standard Liege), David Trezeguet (Juventus), Royston Drenthe (Loan, Real Madrid)


Out: Edu Moya (Free, Xerez), Sergio Diaz (free, Gimnastic de Tarragona), Ionel Danciulescu (free, Dinamo Bucharest), Jorge Alonso (free, Real Valladolid), Gerardo Noriega (free, Gimnastic de Tarragona), Rodri (free, Gimnastic de Tarragona), Andrija Delibasic (free, Rayo Vallecano), Dani Bautista (free, Girona)

LEVANTE:

In: Xavi Torres (Loan Signing, Malaga), Miguel Pallardo (loan, Getafe), Sergio Gonzalez (free, Deportivo La Coruna), Christian Stuani (loan, Reggina), Gustavo Munua (free, Malaga), Valdo (free, Espanyol), Nano (free, Real Betis), Javi Venta (free, Villarreal), Ignacio Gonzalez (loan, Valencia), Asier del Horno (loan, Valencia)


Out: Javi Guerra (Recalled Loan, Mallorca), Pau Cendros (Recalled Loan, Mallorca), Jorge Pina (free, Albacete), Albert Serra (free, Girona FC), Manu Herrera (free, AD Alcorcon), Angel Sanchez (free, AD Alcorcon), Daniel Carril (free, UD Las Palmas), Marc Mateu (loan, Real Union Irun)


MALAGA:

In: Eliseu Pereira (€500k, Lazio), Edinho (Recalled Loan, PAOK Salonika), Javier Malagueno (€2m, Indios de Ciudad Juarez), Salomon Rondon (€3.5m, UD Las Palmas), Sebastian Fernandez (€2.5m, CA Banfield), Rodrigo Galatto (free, Atletico Paranaense), Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (free, Al-Sadd Sports Club)


Out: Milan Stepanov (Recalled Loan, FC Porto), Roberto Santamaria (Recalled Loan, Las Palmas), Valdo (Recalled Loan, Espanyol), Felipe Caicedo (Recalled Loan, Manchester City), Victor Obinna (Recalled Loan, Inter Milan), Fernando Forestieri (Recalled Loan, Genoa), Xavi Torres (Loan Signing, Levante), Javi Lopez (loan, SD Ponferradina), Pere Marti (free, CD Castellon), Miguel Angel Lozano (free, SD Ponferradina), Gustavo Munua (free, Levante), Jordi Pablo (loan, FC Cartagena), Daniel Toribio (loan, SD Ponferradina)

MALLORCA:

In: Felipe Mattioni (€1m, Maga Esporte), Javi Guerra (Recalled Loan, Levante), Pau Cendros (Recalled Loan, Levante), Oscar Diaz (Recalled Loan, Recreativo Huelva), Jonathan de Guzman (free, Feyenoord)

Out: Mario Suarez (€1.8m, Atletico Madrid), Borja Valero (Recalled Loan, West Bromwich Albion), Aritz Aduriz (€4m, Valencia), Fernando Varela (free, Kasimpasa SK), Julio Alvarez (free, Tenerife), Javi Guerra (€300k, Valladolid), Oscar Diaz (free, Xerez), Felipe Mattioni (free, Espanyol), Javi Castellano (loan, Real Union Irun), Oscar Trejo (loan, Rayo Vallecano), Juanmi Callejon (free, Cordoba CF)

OSASUNA:

In: Fernando Soriano (Free, Almeria), Asier Riesgo (Free, Real Sociedad), Dejan Lekic (€2.5m, Red Star Belgrade), Nicolas Medina (Recalled Loan, CD Castellon), Damia Albella (loan, Real Betis), Lolo (free, Sevilla)


Out: Cesar Azpilicueta (€7m, Marseille), Dady (Free, Bucaspor), Jorge Galan (Loan Signing, Huesca), Oscar Vega (Loan Signing, Huesca), Jokin Esparza (Loan Signing, Huesca), Andres Fernandez (Loan Signing, SD Huesca), Roberto Fernandez (Free, Granada CF), Roversio (loan, Real Betis)


RACING SANTANDER:

In: Francis (Free, Xerez), Domingo Cosma (Free, Almeria), Kennedy Bakircioglu (Free, Kayserispor), Henrique (loan, Barcelona), Ariel Nahuelpan (free, Coritiba), Alexandros Tziolis (loan, Siena), Adrian Gonzalez (free, Getafe)


Out: Nasief Morris (Recalled Loan, Panathinaikos), Juanjo Esposito (Loan Signing, Watford), Jose Moraton (free, UD Salamanca), Toni Moral (free, FC Cartagena)

REAL MADRID:

In: Angel Di Maria (€25m, Benfica), Sami Khedira (€10m, Stuttgart), Pedro Leon (€10m, Getafe), Mesut Ozil (€15m, Werder Bremen), Ricardo Carvalho (€7.5m, Chelsea),

Out: Miguel Palanca (Free, Elche), Pedro Mosquera (Free, Getafe), Raul (Free, Schalke 04), Guti (Free, Besiktas), Christophe Metzelder (Free, Schalke 04)


REAL SOCIEDAD:

In: Joseba Llorente (€2m, Villarreal), Francisco Sutil (Free, SD Eibar), Diego Ifran (€1.5m, Danubio), Jeffrey Sarpong (free, Ajax Amsterdam)


Out: Asier Riesgo (Free, Osasuna), Franck Songo’o (Recalled Loan, Real Zaragoza), Inigo Sarasola (loan, Real Union), Iosu Esnaola (loan, Real Union)

REAL ZARAGOZA:

In: Abel Aguilar (Loan Extended, Udinese), Pablo de Barros (Recalled Loan, Gimnastic de Tarragona), Braulio Nobrega (Recalled Loan, Recreativo Huelva), Franck Songo’o (Recalled Loan, Real Sociedad), Leo Franco (Free, Galatasaray), Toni Doblas (Free, SD Huesca), Matteo Contini (€2.1m, Napoli), Nicolas Bertolo (loan, Palermo), Adam Pinter (free, MTK Budapest)


Out: Adrian Colunga (Recalled Loan, Recreativo Huelva), Humberto Suazo (loan return, CF Monterrey), Eliseu Pereira (Recalled Loan, Lazio), Ruben Pulido (free, Eskisehirspor), Pablo Amo (free, Panserraikos), Pablo de Barros (loan, Cruzeiro)

SEVILLA:

In: Mouhamadou Dabo (Free, St. Etienne), Tiberio Guarente (€5m, Atalanta), Arouna Kone (Recalled Loan, Hannover 96), Luca Cigarini (loan, Napoli)

Out: Marius Stankevicius (Recalled Loan, Sampdoria), Francisco Javier Barranco (Free, Osasuna B), Marc Valiente (Free, Valladolid), Adriano (€10m, Barcelona), Emiliano Armenteros (loan, Rayo Vallecano), Jose Angel Crespo (loan, Padova), David Prieto (free, Tenerife), Tom de Mul (loan, Standard Liege), Javier Chevanton (free, Lecce), Lolo (free, Sevilla)

SPORTING GIJON:

In: Gaston Sangoy (€1m, Apollon Limassol), Ayoze Garcia (Free, Tenerife), Nacho Novo (Free, Rangers), Alberto Botia (Free, Barcelona), Sebastian Eguren (Free, Villarreal),

Out: Milan Smiljanic (Recalled Loan, Espanyol), Kike Mateo (loan, Elche CF), Jose Maldonado (free, FC Cartagena), Gerard Autet (free, Xerez)

VALENCIA:

In: Mehmet Topal (€4.2m, Galatasaray), Roberto Soldado (€10m, Getafe), Renan Brito (Recalled Loan, Xerez), Thiago Carleto (Recalled Loan, Sao Paulo), Nacho Gonzalez (Recalled Loan, Levadiakos), Asier del Horno (Recalled Loan, Valladolid), Alberto Costa (€6.5m, Montpellier), Aritz Aduriz (€4m, Mallorca), Sofiane Feghouli (free, Grenoble)

Out: David Villa (€40m, Barcelona), Michel Herrero (On Loan, Deportivo La Coruna), Nikola Zigic (€7m, Birmingham City), Renan Brito (On Loan, Internacional), David Silva (€30m, Manchester City), David Lomban (free, Xerez), Carlos Marchena (€2.2m, Villarreal), Aaron Niguez (free, Recreativo Huelva), Ignacio Gonzalez (loan, Levante), Asier del Horno (loan, Levante)

VILLARREAL:
In: Sofiane Feghouli (free, Grenoble), Ricardo Costa (free, Lille), Damian Escudero (€2.5m, Boca Juniors), Sebastian Eguren (loan return, Lazio), Borja Valero (€6m, West Bromwich Albion), Carlos Marchena (€2.2m, Valencia)

Out: Ivan Marcano (Loan Signing, Getafe), Joseba Llorente (€2m, Real Sociedad), Sebastian Eguren (free, Sporting Gijon), Ariel Ibagaza (Free, Olympiakos), Diego Godin (€8m, Atletico Madrid), David Fuster (free, Olympiakos), Javi Venta (free, Levante)

SOURCE: http://soccerlens.com/spanish-la-liga-transfers/

BARCELONA: David Villa joins for €40million from Valencia

It's official. For the next four seasons at least, David Villa will be a Barcelona player after signing from Valencia for €40million. Pep Guardiola and Joan Laporta have moved swiftly to ensure that Barca will have the most feared frontline in football once the 2010/2011 season kicks off. Not even Florentino will be able to match that this summer. Taking into account Titi Henrys probable exit, Villa joins Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Bojan and Pedro in a mouthwatering array of striking riches. How will Pep fit them all into his plans? With Pedro a nailed-on starter, young Bojan looks set for another year of benchwarming, while big Zlatan must be fearing for his on/off place in the team after a largely uninspiring debut season. But Pep's got a whole summer to ponder that one over. My one worry about Villa? His age. Has he already peaked? Fingers crossed the best is still to come. Tomorrow the Spanish number '7' will undergo the medical before being unveiled before the fans in the Camp Nou on friday afternoon. Next on the list: Cesc Fabregas.

David Villa set to join Barcelona in the summer

If recent news is to be believed, the stage is set for David Villa to take a trip up the coast to Barcelona this summer in a €40million move also involving Bojan and Alexander Hleb. 'El Guaje' has another 4 years left on his Valencia contract, but with the Mestalla club up to their elbows in debt, 40 big ones would do very nicely indeed. If Laporta (in what will be his fairwell gift to the fans) and Guardiola succeed in staving off interest from across Europe and manage to pull this deal off, it would be fantastic news for Barca fans, as a striker in the Eto'o mould is exactly what has been missing from the Barca jigsaw this season. A striker proven at sticking the ball in the back of the net; a natural born predator. Their most recent fox in the box, Samuel Eto'o, was moved on to Inter Milan last summer by Pep Guardiola as a result of his erratic behaviour and unsettling nature, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved in the opposite direction. But after a positive start to his Camp Nou career, the giant swede has since flattered to deceive. His dire performance against his former club in the Champions League semi-final quite possibly the straw that broke Peps back.

Quite how Barcelona would fair with the Spanish hitman within their ranks should strike fear across Spain and Europe. And it would go down like a lead balloon in Madrid, after Ramon Calderon and Florentino Perez both tried and failed to get Villa to sign on the dotted line during the last two summer transfer windows.

If he can score for fun in Valencia, just imagine how many he would get at Barca...

David Villa:

Career: 235 goals in 455 appearances

Valencia: 129 goals in 212 appearances

Spain: 36 goals in 55 appearances