Not out the door yet, but I will be away for a few days.  Before I go though, I wanted to add my excitement to the Ivan Marcano signing.  With the likes of Godin, Gonzalo, Arzo, Marcano, and Fuentes in the centerback position, we will have a complete central-defensive squad for the first time in a while.  Excellent move by the men upstairs!

Also, as exavi pointed out, the Negredo rumors are boiling again.  If we manage to hold on to Rossi and Llorente (there was a rumor about Bilbao being interested the other day), and add Negredo, we would have a truly spectacular team.

It would be great to add another midfielder, but even if we had to call one up from our youth ranks or one of our loanees (or even one of our recent signings), I would be perfectly content.  The midfield is pretty deep as is, especially considering the way Cani closed out the season and the fact that Cazorla will be back healthy next year.

Wow.  I am very excited – and that could double or even triple if Negredo is waiting on the bench when I get back from my hike on Monday….

To all those in the States, happy 4th of July.

He’s a 22 year old centre back/ left back. Just been confirmed on the official site, it’s a super signing and just what we need. No more details at the moment. Maddi’s away hiking so I’m filling in for a bit! Delighted with this signing. I’ll update more tomorrow.

This is obviously not going to happen, but Tottenham have allegedly asked for Senna, Eguren, plus cash for Roman Pavlyuchenko.  First off, he is simply not that important of a player.

My primary thought when reading that article, though, circled around Marcos Senna.  He has been vital to the squad for a number of years now, but I began to think if this might be a prime time to get maximum value for him.  He is 32 at the moment, so his ability to play the way he does for entire matches (and the entire season) will begin to wane.  Plus, Villarreal played exceptionally well during the last few weeks without him this past season. Of course, who knows what Valverde’s thoughts would be on the matter.

So, would you sell Senna in this type of exchange for the right player?  Is Pavlyuchenko the right player?  Would you even think of selling Senna at all?

Just a couple of updates.

Jozy started again today against Brazil.  He had a few nice moments, but he did not have much presence on the field.  I won’t beat a dead horse with my opinion on his off-the-ball movement, but he definitely did not have that going for him today.  It was not a bad two weeks for him, though, as he earned the corner that initially gave the US hope against Italy, and scored a goal against Spain that he will be able to rue over Capdevila for the rest of his career.  Second place for the USMNT is much more than they could have expected going in (although they did it in a roundabout way with two wins, three losses, and a negative goal differential – but they did improve when it counted!).

In club-specific news:

The sale of Mati is basically official at this point.  Although he has not signed the contract yet, the deal is agreed to by all sides, including the player himself.  The price came to just under 5m euros, plus 15% of the sales price for Matias’ rights if Sporting ends up selling him.

Villarreal continue to show interest in three main players to strengthen the squad.  Up front, where a striker is needed, Roman Pavlyuchenko is the main target.  He was purchased last year by Tottenham for 16 or 17m euros, but did not find favor with new boss Harry Redknapp.  Tottenham are keen on retaining his full price on exit, but it is clear Villarreal would not be interested (and El Periodico Mediterraneo reports that Llaneza went to London last week aiming at the Russian) if they didn’t think he could be obtained a little cheaper.

In midfield, Villarreal are looking at Malagan midfielder Apoño.  The midfielder scored 9 goals this term for Malaga, and has an exit clause of 6m euros.  Again, that is probably not a clause Villarreal would be willing to reach, but perhaps a lower bid?

And on defense, as noted here the other day, Iván Marcano is the target.  He can play both left back and center back, both positions that need more depth.  He is young, too, and a bit of youth could be a positive step for Villarreal.  His clause is 20m euros.

Things have finally begun to work themselves out as the transfer season swings into full gear for Villarreal.  There are new faces, and some that will be greatly missed.  Also, at least one that seemed sure to go a week and a half ago suddenly seems almost a sure thing for next year.  A lot of these things have already been discussed a bit in the comments – thanks for keeping the site up to date when I haven’t been able to!

Nihat has completed his move to Besiktas.  He will be with his boyhood club, where, hopefully he and his family will be happy.  I know I will miss him, and I know many readers here feel the same way.  He was a great player, a great member of the team, and a great person.  Best of luck, Nihat!

Mati Fernandez will also soon be a former Villarreal player, having come to personal terms with Sporting Lisbon.  A “crack” who never quite lived up to his potential at Villarreal, for reasons probably not all his fault, he too will be missed here.  He stayed positive despite long periods on the bench, and always put forth tremendous effort.  He was always one of my favorite players.

Newspapers have reported that there is a possibility of Jozy Altidore going to Greece.  Chances are very slim though, as Villarreal will be looking to give him the highest competition possible.  I think it is likely he will be loaned out for another year, but I would expect it to be to a Primera or Premiereship team.

With those moves completed, and a likely 4m or so euros coming in from the eventual transfer of Antonio Valencia by Wigan (we had a clause in the contract when we sold him to Wigan), Villarreal have a little money to spend. Villarreal are looking for a replacement for Nihat (and Guille Franco), and Roman Pavlyuchenko is being rumored as a possible signing.  Apparently he is not happy at Tottenham, but who knows if we will have the ability to pull him in.  He hasn’t been at his top form there, but he has definitely shown some magic at times – I would be happy to see him don the Yellow.  But he is, in all likelihood, too expensive.

Villarreal are also apparently intersted in Iván Marcano, a central defender/leftback for Racing Santander.  He is only 22 and has Spanish roots.

Villarreal have signed David Fuster to a contract extension through 2013, and is expected to be with Villarreal’s first team next season.  Along with him El Periodico Mediterraneo suggests that Damien Escudero and Jonathan Pereira are both being considered by Valverde for first team positions.

According to Goal.com, Besiktas claims to be in talks on personal terms for a three year deal with Nihat.  A couple of weeks ago, a deal was presumed dead, but now it looks like the deal might be resurrected.  Villarreal would get 4.5m euros in the deal, and would free up some space in the forward position, which has gotten a little crowded.

In a huge upset in the Confederations Cup, the United States Men’s National Team has defeated the number one team in the world.  Jozy scored an impressive first goal after holding off Joan Capdevila and making a great turn.  Here’s the highlight:

So, did his performance today earn him a spot of Villarreal’s roster? Even though he played well, he still needs to start putting more effort in when he doesn’t have the ball. If he played with Donovan’s effort, who knows how good he could be. Rumors are that Fulham are looking to buy him.

Villarreal have determined who will warm the bench waiting for some reason Diego Lopez can’t play next year: Xavi Oliva, the 33-year-old former keeper from Castellon. Any Vila-Real locals know much about him?

Also, Villarreal will again be playing in (and perhaps again being slaughtered by Valladolid in) el Trofeo Ciudad de Valladolid this summer as preparation for the upcoming season.  However, it looks like they have canceled their trip to Chile – not sure of the details.

This allegedly came from Rossi’s agent:

“The player is in a difficult situation. He is happy at Villarreal where we are trying to renew his contract but, without a shadow of a doubt, if we received a call from a big club, we would answer it.”

This is the first I have heard about anyone trying to renew his contract.  Not that I have a problem with that – I am all for it (with a much higher clause as well).  But I would be really shocked if he was interested in this, as he obviously is trying to move to Italy sometime soon.

Also, Matias Fernandez is expected to complete his transfer to Sporting tomorrow, with Villarreal retaining a buyback right.

A typical comment from team prankster Joan Capdevila as Spain gets ready to take on the United States in the Confederations Cup semis:

“Yesterday [Altidore] sent me a message and told me that we had to be careful, but his Spanish is not so great, so I think he made a mistake.”

And a compliment to boot:

“He was only half a year at the club before we loaned him out to Xerez, but he’s 18 or 19, is very strong physically and has great speed.”

It was only a matter of time before Milan were seriously rumored to be considering a bid for Giuseppe Rossi.  Rossi, who grew up a Milan fan, would seem to be an easy fit with the Rossoneri (although I am not sure how well he would line up alongside Pato, if he sticks around).  And Milan, with pockets flush with Real Madrid’s money, could afford a big buyout.  Villarreal continue to hold fast to the 40m euro price tag, but Rossi’s agent said that he believed a fee in the region of 25m to 28m euros could seal the deal.

And more Real Madrid money is haunting us from far-away shores: as Manchester United’s potential bid for Victor Valdes seems to be scuppered, stories suggesting they are coming after Diego Lopez have resurfaced.  They are dripping in money at the moment, having offloaded Ronaldo, and could come up with the 20m euro fee.  As Villarreal have virtually clammed up any talk of selling Lopez, it seems it would take a nearly full-price offer for the club to consider the move.

Hmm. I think Segunda A requires uniforms to include shorts.

Villarreal CF can now proudly assert that they are the only club in Spain with teams in the top two divisions, as Villarreal B defeated Jaen 1-2 (after a 0-0 first leg) to secure promotion to Segunda A.  The change could be a remarkable development for the club, as they can now keep most of their youngsters in-house, where they will be able to grow as a team playing at a high level of competition.  This is a big day for Villarreal.

In other news, Villarreal’s rumored transfer target Javad Nekounam has made clear that he has no plans to leave Osasuna at the moment, so it looks like he will not be lining up at El Madrigal on a regular basis next season.

It seems that there is little possibility of Mati Fernandez going out on loan next year.  Not that Mati fans should be getting excited by the fact, though – he seems destined to be sold.  Llaneza has made clear that Villarreal has no plans to transfer him on a temporary basis.  The general understanding is that he could leave for a 5m euro fee, which will be a significant loss for Villarreal.

The other day, Villarreal completed the signings of Gremio youngsters Tiago Dutra and Bruno Renan, two Brazilians with a tremendous upside.  Dutra, a defensive midfielder, has been playing for Brazil’s U-20 side for a while.  Renan is an attacking midfielder.  Both will probably be loaned out (or, could find themselves with Villarreal B!), but that is of course up to Valverde.  They are expected to report July 13th.