|
Reports today suggest that Spanish striker David Villa could well be considering a move away from his current club Valencia n the summer. Valencia have endured a torrid season by their own high standards and although they are safe from relegation, with one game left to play in Spain, Villa may well decided it’s time for a move away from the Mestalla. After being one of the mainstays in the Champions League over recent seasons the turbulent 2007/08 season has ruled Valencia out of the Champions League for 2008/09. The shortfall in cash that their absence is likely to cause from the lucrative tournament will need to be resolved by selling players, and Villa is the player likely to attract the highest fee. Despite the difficult season Villa has been the model of consistency again and has scored 16 La Liga goals this season, equalling last season’s haul, plus two more in the Champions League. His hugely impressive goal scoring record, not only for Valencia, but also Real Zaragoza and Sporting Gijon previously, has attracted some admiring glances from Valencia’s rivals. At 26 Villa still has his best years ahead of him and he would make an attractive target. Were the forward to move away from Valencia, to whom he is contracted until 2013, he would be certain to attract a huge fee at least in excess of £20 million even in today’s deflated market, thus ruling out all but the biggest European clubs. Furthermore Valencia would be loathe to sell their star striker to a fellow Spanish club, which more or less rules out the like of Real Madrid and Barcelona, all of whom would love to have the striker in their squad. This therefore implies that the only logical destination for Villa would be either the Premiership or Serie A. Chelsea could well be looking at reinforcing their forward line over the summer with several of their current strikers touted for a move away from the Bridge over the next few months. Shevehenko looks almost certain to leave, the most recent interest emanating supposedly from Fenerbahce, who have offered £9 million for the Ukrainian. Another fringe player likely to leave is Claudio Pizarro; the Peruvian, despite scoring on his debut in the Premiership, has not figured greatly in Grant’s plans and could even be used as a makeweight in any deal. Villarreal have already showed in an interest in the player, so a move to Valencia, isn’t out of the question. However, it is Didier Drogba who potentially holds the key for Chelsea and with his future still unresolved, any move for Villa will be put on hold. However, if the Ivorian does move on than Villa could be the ideal replacement; quick on the ground, a reasonable header of the ball but above all a deadly finisher, the transfer fee generated for Drogba could be immediately re-invested in Villa. Cecs Fabregas has urged his manager Arsene Wenger to consider a move for the player. It has been reported that Fabregas feels that Villa could be the ideal partner for Adebayor as Arsenal look to mount a serious challenge for next season’s title. The Spaniard could be onto something as Villa generally plays best when paired with former Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes, who wins a lot of balls in the air and lays them off to Villa. Although Arsenal could well generate a considerable amount of money in the transfer window this summer, splashing huge sums of cash on players isn’t really the Arsenal way. Presuming that the bidding for Villa would start at around £20 million, this could rule Arsenal out of the race. Manchester United have been linked with several forwards in recent months with both Ajax’s Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Lyon’s Karim Benezema supposedly interesting the club. However, the Old Trafford management team, if they do move for a forward in the summer, may prefer to concentrate on bringing in more of a target-man type of striker. With compatriot Fernando Torres already at Anfield, it seems highly unlikely that Liverpool would be in the running for Villa. The Spanish national team have always played with either one or the other, and on that basis alone spending at least another £20 million on Villa would be out of the question. If the Premier League doesn’t tempt Villa, he could always try his luck in Italy. AC Milan will be acquiring at least one new striker and have already been linked with several including Didier Drogba, Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Mario Gomez. Roma are also expected to purchase another forward in an attempt to ease the goal scoring burden on Totti. They have already been linked with Daniel Guiza from Real Mallorca although like Arsenal may find themselves ruled out of the race as a result of a lack of funds. Inter Milan already have a surfeit of strikers at their disposal and would only consider Villa if Ibrahimovic moved on. With the Swede likely to remain with the club for the foreseeable future a move for David Villa remains on ice. The potential availability of David Villa is certain to spark off great interest in the corridors of power of several of Europe’s super-clubs but exactly where he intends to go, or whether he stays put, may not be resolved until after Euro 2008. Participate > Debate: Would you like to see David Villa at your club? Have your say in our La Liga forum Posted by Walter Townsend on Thursday, 15th May 2008 (Average rating 0 from 0 votes. Vote) (0 Comments) |