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Yesterday’s La Liga transfer roundup entailed an update on the future of Junior Firpo, news on Gareth Bale and Malcom’s expected move to Zenit St Petersburg. Today’s edition consists of another piece of information on Firpo, a trio of Spanish clubs interested in Benoit Badiashile and comments from Koke on James Rodriguez.
Betis lower Firpo price
Report: According to Sport, Real Betis have dropped their asking price from €35m (£32m) to €25m (£22.9m) for left-back Junior Firpo. However, as it stands, Barcelona are only offering €20m (£19m). There is room for negotiation, though.
Verdict: It seems there is a new piece of information in regards to Firpo every day, which generally indicates that there is a strong interest from the Catalan club in making the 22-year-old their back-up to current first choice on the left side of defence, Jordi Alba. The sale of Malcom, who is set to join Zenit St Petersburg for a fee worth €40m (£36.6m), would cover the cost of the former Spain U21 international should Barca be able to bring him in. The deal should be expected to go through, but the Camp Nou outfit will no doubt be frustrated at the pace of the negotiations.
How likely is the deal? 8/10
La Liga trio eye Badiashile
Report: It is understood by Soccerlink that Benoit Badiashile is of interest to a trio of La Liga clubs. Atletico Madrid, Real Betis and Valencia are all mentioned to be looking at the 18-year-old along with Manchester United, Wolves and Southampton from the Premier League.
Verdict: Despite being just 18, Badiashile is already attracting a lot of attention. Last season was his first in professional football and he made 26 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 club. Of the three La Liga clubs said to be pursuing him, Valencia would be the best destination. They have just three centre-backs on their books and one of them, Ezequiel Garay, is 32 years old. Badiashile would represent an option for the future of the club.
How likely is the deal? 6/10
Koke would “welcome” Rodriguez
Report: Atletico Madrid’s Koke has said that Colombia international James Rodriguez would be welcome at the club should he join this summer. The 27-year-old told Cadena SER (via OneFootball), “He is a great player and we don’t know what will happen. If he comes, he is welcome and if not, I wish him luck in the team he is at”. The Real Madrid midfielder has been linked with a move to the Wanda Metropolitano.
Verdict: It would be a surprise to see Real Madrid allow Rodriguez to go to Atletico, and especially for a mooted fee of just €40m (£36.6m), but they clearly wouldn’t be too sad to see him depart the Bernabeu. The former Porto man has spent the last two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich and, whilst he did not do terribly, he was far from the first name on Niko Kovac’s team sheet last term – he started just 13 Bundesliga games for the Bavarians. Would he be able to rediscover his form of 14/15, when he scored 13 and created as many in La Liga alone, at Atletico? The answer to that question is unknown, but at €40m (£36.6m), it would be worth the risk for Diego Simeone and co to find out.
How likely is the deal? 5.5/10
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