Brentford boss Dean Smith has stated that he is currently looking at the possibility of bringing back Jota to England during the January transfer window. Jota enjoyed a fantastic debut campaign with Brentford after joining the club back in the summer of 2014 but a serious knee injury meant that the Spaniard missed a lot of action last season. Surprisingly, Jota was allowed to move back to former club Eibar on loan during the January transfer window earlier this year and the deal lasts till the end of the current campaign. However, the 25-year-old has struggled for regular minutes on … [Read more...]
Could Sevilla Survive Without Monchi?
Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, more commonly known as Monchi, is quite possibly the most important figure in European football that you have never heard of. Born in San Fernando in 1968, Monchi was a goalkeeper who spent the entirety of his nine year playing career with Sevilla. It was after he hung up his boots in 1999, however, that Monchi really rose to prominence. Just a year after his retirement, when Sevilla were relegated from the Spanish top division in the year 2000, Monchi was appointed as the club’s new director of football. Sevilla’s board gave him two clear instructions; develop the … [Read more...]
Why Have So Few English Managers Made the Switch to La Liga?
At the start of the 2016/17 Premier League season David Moyes will be in the Sunderland dugout and Gary Neville will be in a TV studio. Not so long ago, however, both were enjoying sunnier climes as managers in Spain’s La Liga. Moyes took the helm of comparatively lowly Real Sociedad and Neville was installed at Valencia by an owner who also happens to be his business partner, and yet both appointments were still huge news in England. The reason those appointments did make so many headlines is because it is today so unusual for British and more specifically English managers to score a top … [Read more...]
Ter Stegen, Bravo or Masip: Who Will be Barca’s Number One this Season?
At top clubs like Barcelona competition for places is always fierce. In order to compete at the highest level, Europe’s premier teams have to stack their squads full of talent and that means that top class players can often find themselves outside of the first eleven. What is perhaps not quite so common, however, is for there to be as fierce a competition for the goalkeeper’s number one jersey as there appears to be at the Nou Camp this season. Ahead of the 2016/17 campaign, the trio of Marc-André ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo and Jordi Masip have designs on that prestigious position, and … [Read more...]
Arsenal Close To Signing La Liga Defender
Arsenal are close to completing a deal to sign Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi, but a fee for the centre-back is yet to be agreed by the two clubs. The Premier League outfit are keen to sign Mustafi as soon as possible as they lack defenders due to injuries suffered by Gabriel and Per Mertesacker in the build-up to the new campaign. But Valencia are determined to fight for the best possible fee for the Germany international, who featured for his side at Euro 2016 this summer. Mustafi has experience of the Premier League as he was previously on the books of Everton, but he left … [Read more...]
West Ham Trying To Sign Real Madrid Starlet
Real Madrid starlet Martin Odegaard could be coming to the Premier League, with West Ham United trying to tie up a loan deal for the wonderkid. According to a report by Spanish newspaper AS, Odegaard's future could be wrapped up in the coming days as Madrid want a move to be completed ahead of their transfer ban beginning. The 17-year-old, who is also a target for Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg, have appealed against the ban with a ruling expected to be confirmed by the end of the week. If the ban is upheld Real Madrid will be unable to register outgoing or incoming players, meaning … [Read more...]
Stoke City Striker Target To Join La Liga Club
Stoke City's search for a new striker has been dealt a blow with one of their targets reportedly set to sign for a La Liga club. The Potters are looking for a new striker to lead the line in the Premier League this season, with Mark Hughes having been linked with a move for Independiente del Valle forward Jose Angulo, whose goals recently fired the club to the Copa Libertadores final. Angulo's agent Matias Lipman told the Guardian last month: "So far Stoke and Monaco have shown an interest but I’m sure when the Copa Libertadores final game is played there will be other Premier League … [Read more...]
La Liga Club To Sign Ex-Spurs Midfielder?
La Liga club Real Betis are reportedly in talks with Paris Saint-Germain over a deal for their former Spurs midfielder Benjamin Stambouli. Stambouli struggled to make an impact in Ligue 1 last season and the arrival of new coach Unai Emery, who has signed Grzegorz Krychowiak from his old club Sevilla, has seen Stambouli slide down the pecking order. However, Stambouli was a surprise selection for PSG's 4-1 Trophee des Champions victory against Lyon at the weekend, excelling alongside Thiago Motta at the base of the midfield. According to a report by L'Equipe, negotiations are ongoing … [Read more...]
Spurs Linked With Bid For La Liga Defender
Tottenham had the joint-best defence in the Premier League last season, but Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly planning to add to his defensive options for the new campaign. According to Italian journalist Emanuele Giulianelli, who contributes FourFourTwo and La Gazzetta dello Sport among other publications, Pochettino is planning to reignite a proposed move for Valencia centre-back Mateo Musacchio. The Belgian pair of Toby Alderweireld and the fit-again Jan Vertonghen are set to be Pochettino's first choice defensive pairing again this year, but with Federico Fazio joining Roma on loan … [Read more...]
Barcelona To Hijack West Ham’s Calleri Move?
Argentine striker Jonathan Calleri was expected to join West Ham United on loan after the Olympic Games, but La Liga champions Barcelona are reportedly planning to hijack the move. Calleri, who scored Argentina's winner against Algeria at the Games at the weekend, is a Boca Juniors player but spent last season on loan at Sao Paulo. According to a report by Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo, Calleri is one of a number of attackers Barcelona are considering bringing to Camp Nou to boost their forward line. While the fabled MSN strikeforce of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez is … [Read more...]