Starting Early; Our Transfer Targets this Summer

By: Anthony | May 28th, 2009

We really don’t waste time in Nervión. Maybe it’s all the excitement over qualifying for next year’s Champions League or maybe it’s just good time management on our part; whatever it is, all I know is that Monchi has already made it clear of who he wants to acquire in the summer transfer window.

Our infamous sporting director Monchi has come out and said he is going to aim to sign 4 targets during the upcoming summer months in preparation for next season and our quest in the Champions League. Anyone who watched us this season could clearly tell that we still have a long way to go before we can consider ourselves challengers for the league because we just don’t have the depth that Barcelona and Real Madrid do. We also don’t have the massive budgets that they do to splurge out on Europe’s top superstars and all things considered, we’re doing all right.

All right isn’t good enough anymore as we aim to solidify our place as one of Spain’s best teams and during the summer transfer window it is pretty clear that we need to bring in some key additions to continue pushing up the table and show that we’re here to stay, not just for a visit. Monchi has been known over the years to find the best undiscovered talent around the world but now that teams everywhere have much better scouting, our sporting director feels that we have some competition and will therefore go for proven but reasonably priced talent.

Our Main Target – Jesús Gámez:
He has been one of the main reasons that Málaga has performed so well this season and is definitely one of the most sought after right-backs in Spain right now. This transfer will be anything but straight forward though as Málaga had apparently already rejected an offer from us this past January worth €3.5m and an unnamed player as well as a €4.5m offer from Valencia. Jesús has made it clear that he would welcome a move to the red side of the Andalucían capital and play in the Champions League. Joseba Diaz, Gámez’ agent also said, “There is nothing concrete, but I would love to see Jesús leave for Sevilla”.

It’s been clear since Alves left last summer that we have struggled terribly to find a suitable replacement at right back with the capabilities that Dani had. Mosquera and Konko have been less than convincing this past season and for a team who wants to do well domestically and in Europe you must have a solid defense. I guess that does sound ridiculous considering we have the second best defensive record in the whole league only behind league winners Barcelona but at the same time, we require sharper talent; Mosquera and Konko are not Champions League quality footballers. Gámez does well when pushing up and is also solid defensively which is similar to Alves and his style of play.

A side note which is actually really important in my eyes is the fact that he is Spanish. No, I’m not racist by any means but I see us bringing in more and more foreigners when we are located in a country overflowing with talent and I think it is always good to have as much homegrown talent in the squad as possible.

Málaga are asking any possible suitors for cash but it is clear that they will need players since they have several playing for them only on loans which expire this summer. One of those player’s is our very own Duda who plays on either the right or left flank. It’s obvious that in Jesús Navas, Diego Capel, Adriano, and Diego Perotti, we have possibly the best flank men in all of La Liga and Duda would clearly be a surplus to requirements. That’s not even mentioning Tom de Mul who is on loan at Racing Genk for the end of this season and will also be re-joining us soon. Another player of ours who is currently on loan at Málaga is Lolo and the former Sevilla Atlético youth product has also been a vital part behind the success of our Andalucían neighbours making 26 appearances this season and scoring 4 goals playing in a defensive midfield position. Two players who would struggle to find playing time in Nervión could definitely be used as makeweight in the deal for our target Gámez and it’s hard to see what Málaga would do without them.

Other Targets
Swiss International Gökhan Inler was said to be one of the players Monchi was looking to bring in during previous window’s and now he looks to step up his pursuit in order to finally clinch a deal. The now Udinese man plays as a central midfielder and is a Poulsen-esque type player who we still have yet to find since the Dane’s departure to Juventus last summer.

Another central midfielder our scouts are apparently monitoring is Stéphane M’Bia who currently plays his league football for Rennes in France. Their sporting director Pierre Dreossi has acknowledged that M’Bia could very well leave this summer when he stated yesterday “M’Bia is the only player we are willing to let out this summer if there is a good offer, for the moment that has not occurred.”

There is one more player who Monchi said he is following but preferred to keep him unnamed for the time being. Whoever we sign I am definitely looking forward to new faces around the camp because we definitely need to freshen things up a bit and add depth to the squad to create competition within.

Let’s hope Monchi can work his magic like he so often has done before.