La Liga Lowdown's Friday transfer round-up (27/01/23)
This week has had a sense of the calm before the storm in the transfer market, with the sense of impending doom that tends to loom as deadline day edges closer and negotiations edge ever closer. However, it’s been a reasonably quiet seven days in terms of done deals with only five confirmed signings.
Here, we take a look at the business done by the likes of Atletico Madrid, but also by Girona, Valladolid and Cádiz as all three look to make signings to secure their top-flight status for another year.
January 20th - Memphis Depay - Barcelona to Atletico Madrid - Undisclosed fee (reported €3 million)
Coming in hours after our last round-up on the transfer action, this man is likely to be one of the headline transfers and signings for LaLiga clubs this window as he walks the well-trodden from Camp Nou to the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano.
Unwanted by Xavi, he has chosen Atletico Madrid as the place to turn his career around and moved early, rather than waiting to see out his contract until the summer. He joins the Colchoneros as a João Félix replacement of sorts.
However, question marks remain. He has not played a full 90 minutes since June 2022 and looked rusty at best on his debut against Valladolid, with Diego Simeone set to demand that he gets himself in shape quickly if he is to compete with the likes of Álvaro Morata, Ángel Correa and Antoine Griezmann for a starting spot.
January 24th - Alexander Callens - New York City to Girona - Free transfer
What’s that you’re reading? A transfer within the City Football Group? If you’ve followed Girona’s transfer business over the last few years, you’re probably as unsurprised as you were when you discovered that the sun had risen this morning.
Callens is a Peruvian international and no stranger to Spanish football, having spent four years with Real Sociedad before a brief spell with Numancia in Segunda. With Girona, he’ll be hoping to finally make his Primera debut in the heart of the Catalans’ defence having become a mainstay for New York City. At 30, he still has something left in the tank and will be hoping to add some experience and consistency to Girona’s unpredictable defence.
January 24th - Cyle Larin - Club Brugge to Valladolid - Loan with an option to buy
Callens isn’t the only player moving to Spain with North American links this week, and Cyle Larin is a candidate as one of the window’s surprise packages. Canada’s record goalscorer was in Qatar this winter for the World Cup, and now ends a spell at Club Brugge, where he failed to live up to expectations after joining from Beşiktaş.
A strong physical presence, he could provide the chalk-and-cheese match for another recent attacking addition at the Estadio José Zorrilla in Darwin Machís. His impressive hold-up play will likely mean that he provides an alternative to Israeli international Shon Weissman, who has been unable to maintain his Segunda scoring streak in the top division.
January 25th - Gonzalo Escalante - Lazio to Cádiz - Loan with an obligation to buy if Cádiz avoid relegation and other requirements are met
If there were a LaLiga equivalent to bringing in Sam Allardyce to stave off a relegation fight, it would be bringing in Gonzalo Escalante. However, it must be said that to say it like that is a woeful disservice to the talents of the Argentine midfielder.
Still only 29, Escalante is best known in Spain for a five-year period at Eibar in which he was one of the first names on the team-sheet for José Luis Mendilíbar. His reliability and bite in midfield pushed the Basque club to their highest ever position, and it was certainly no coincidence that his departure to Lazio in 2020 came before the club fell to relegation.
Last season, he was out of favour under Maurizio Sarri and sought a return to Spain to revive his career. It came with a January loan move to Alavés, where he was as essential to their hopes of survival as Joselu in the final months of the season, though it was not enough to salvage the Vitoria-based side.
January 26th - Roger Martí - Elche to Cádiz - Loan with an obligation to buy for €2 million if Cádiz avoid relegation
Another addition for Cádiz’s front-line sees the former Levante hitman Roger Martí added as Elche surprisingly add depth to the attack of one of their relegation rivals. Given his return of only two goals in 15 games since joining, they may not be too concerned.
The 32-year-old centre forward was prolific for Levante, where he reached double digits for goals for four consecutive seasons before relegation last year, still notching seven. At Elche, only a little further down Spain’s east coast, he’s failed to replicate that form.
And with that, it’s a wrap for all the inbound transfer action over the past week. Remember if you missed anything from last week’s round-up, the week before or our first round-up, they are just a click away.