Balague’s La Liga preview

The big La Liga kick-off is looming and Guillem Balague is back. From the new manager shaping Sevilla to the player tipped as a potential next Andres Iniesta, Sky Sports’ Spanish football expert picks out the players to watch and the hot topics…

With a ball yet to be kicked in the newly named La Liga Santander, Spanish football has contrived to show us yet again that, while indeed, this may be the simplest of games, it is unquestionably the most complicated of businesses. Where to begin?

Just what is going on at Valencia?

The owner seems to be going in one direction, and the coaching staff another. Aside from the all the intrigue and politics that would not be out of place in an arranged marriage between opposite members of the Machiavelli and Borgia families and despite lofty claims they’re looking to challenge at the top end of the table, the major club from Spain’s third city is in selling mode. But nobody from the club hierarchy is saying that by selling players, the target of Champions League is a pipe dream. 

Just around £8.5m on just two players – Nani for £7.2m from Fenerbahce, Alvaro Medran from Real Madrid for £1.28m – has been spent, with Martin Montoya moving from Barcelona on a free transfer the only other real notable arrival.

A total of £37.3m, meanwhile, has been recouped with the departure of midfielder Andre Gomes (Barcelona), Rodrigo de Paul (Udinese), Javi Fuego (Espanyol) and Antonio Barragan (Middlesbrough).

But it is not who they have sold but, perhaps more worryingly, who they have have decided to give away that raises eyebrows; an indication that the name of the game is to get big earners off the payroll.

Valencia’s main reasoning involves a 30m euro debt as regards the Financial Fair Play rules, which they have now reduced to 10m. Peter Lim has decided to recoup some money getting rid of some of his best players but is not replacing them with ones of similar quality. Imagine what the coaching staff might be thinking after getting a very orderly and talented Valencia squad to work hard all pre-season but knowing that some key players might still go. 

They want to change their centre-backs; Arsenal are in conversation with them over the availability of the German international Shkodran Mustafi and they would also like Everton to maintain their interest in the Tunisian, Aymen Abdennour. They’re also keen to get Brazil’s Adelan Santos off their books.

Back to England has come Alvaro Negredo, on loan to new boys Middlesbrough following his £20m-plus move from Manchester City, while Algerian winger Sofiane Feghouli has moved on a free to West Ham.

Barcelona and Diego Alves have reached personal terms – Valencia and Barcelona too – but Luis Enrique is not convinced he is the ideal man to replace Claudio Bravo, who is heading to Manchester. 

But where it really gets interesting is with the will-he-won’t-he saga being played out over the rumoured move of their international striker, Paco Alcacer, to Barcelona.

A local lad, Alcacer is unquestionably the jewel in the Valencia crown. The official line is that Valencia don’t want to sell him – except of course they do, they just don’t want to be seen as the people provoking the move.

What they are trying to do therefore is tell Alcacer to announce to the fans that he wants to go, so they can shrug their shoulders, announce to the world, ‘What can we do?’ and then sell him for a lot of money.

The problem with that of course is that if the young Paco was a stick of rock then he would have the word ‘Ches’ – a nickname for Valencians – running through his entire body. He realises, however, that when Barcelona come calling it is often – but not always (see later) – difficult to refuse them, especially when your own club wants the move to happen. So he wants to go to, no matter what his entourage might be saying. 

The deal was personally organised following a meeting between Valencia owner, Peter Lim, and Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, but the outcome is not clear. In fact, the latest line is that Valencia, aware that by selling other players they might be okay with the FPP and knowing that fans have started to complain very vocally, have decided reluctantly to keep the player. For now.

Who’d be a manager in La Liga?

Just one week before they were due to face Monaco in the qualifying round …

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