Bumper La Liga Q&A: Nolito, Cristiano’s form and sides lasting the pace

This week I’ve taken to Twitter - @GaffneyVLC if you want to follow me there - to answer some of your La Liga related questions. Here’s the pick of the bunch on subjects such as transfers, who can last the pace and who is best poised to break the monopoly of the top three.

Who’s the best player in the league that doesn’t play for Barcelona, Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid? @ElliottUnited

Wow, that’s a tough one. There are a lot of choices but I’d personally have to say either Nolito or Aritz Aduriz. In the past 2-3 seasons Nolito has exploded onto the scene and moved into that top tier bracket. It’d be unfair to say he has single-handedly brought Celta Vigo into contention for the last Champions League place but there’s no doubting he has been absolutely crucial for them. It’s not just his goals but his overall play, he offers an outlet for the midfielders and creates space for the attackers to move in to. They’ve struggled this month without him.

Aduriz is phenomenal. People ignorantly want to dismiss his goalscoring record this season and label it as some kind of fluke. Those who do clearly haven’t watched a great deal of La Liga in the past 3-4 years as he’s scored 15+ every year since the 12/13 season. At 34 he’s unlikely to leave Athletic Bilbao and the reality is he has no reason to. The team is set-up to extract the maximum out of the San Sebastian-born forward and he already sits on 25 goals, just one short of his total from last season.

Do you think Nolito to Barça will happen in the summer? @Passquets

I get the impression it’s now or never when it comes to a Barcelona return for Nolito. Luis Enrique is a huge fan of his having worked together at Barcelona B as well as at Celta Vigo but there’s a problem when it comes to making a deal. Barcelona have their hands tied financially and can’t afford to pay his release clause, which Celta are demanding, and have instead tried various methods to get the deal over the line. Fringe players have been thrown Celta’s way, as have loan deals which include a penalisation fee if Barcelona didn’t make the move permanent in the summer. Celta refuse to budge while Barcelona have no room to negotiate as things stand. The most likely scenario, if a move can’t be done this January, is Barcelona will re-sign Denis Suarez from Villarreal in the summer instead - for a much cheaper fee, just €3.5m.

Thoughts on a potential Luis Suarez return to Liverpool? Realistic? @Kloppholic

I think everyone knows the answer to this. There were quotes from Suarez earlier this week where he said he’d only play for Liverpool if he returned to England one day and I honestly believe him. Suarez has a fantastic relationship with the club and its fans but there seems very little likelihood he’d ever come back to England. He didn’t appreciate how he was treated by the English press and, after Barcelona, money won’t influence his next destination. He could return home to Uruguay but, as the old saying goes, never say never in football.

How much will Eibar miss Keko if he leaves, could he be replaced at all? @callumread

A lot. Keko has proven to be one of the stars of the season and replacing him, with so little time left in this window, would be a near impossible task. The good news is that Eibar are very solid financially so have no reason to sell, hence why they’ve asked Sevilla to pay his release clause or forget about a move. Sources close to the player say he’d like the move but won’t force it either, out of respect for the club. I have a feeling he might stay until the end of the season before moving to Sevilla in the summer.

Can Giuseppe Rossi save Levante? @paalpot75

That depends on how good Rossi is! Arguably the best and most surprising signing of the January transfer window so far, it’s fantastic to see the likes of Levante sign someone with such an established reputation in world football. He’s only played 17 games in the past two years due to back-to-back cruciate ligament injuries so it’s hard to tell what to expect from Rossi and whether he’s still able to cut it at the highest level.

If he can strike up a partnership with Deyverson then there’s every chance the duo could fire them out of the relegation zone as it’s so tight down there - they’re just one victory from moving up to 17th. Levante’s issues aren’t up front though but at the back. It’s impossible to predict who will go down but Rossi could quickly turn himself in a local hero if he produces the form that we saw during his last stint in La Liga with Villarreal.

Do you see any possibility Valencia could turn this season around and get a UEL place once several first team members return? @AntonyVogt

It’s certainly within the realms of possibility as they are only eight points behind Eibar, who currently occupy the final Europa League spot, but they need to focus on pulling away from the sides at the bottom before they begin to look forward. For example If they lose to 19th-placed Sporting Gijon at the weekend then the Asturian side would be just four points behind them in the league. I do believe a couple of wins and Valencia will get back on track as their main issues appear to be mental ones as opposed to a lack of quality They should concentrate their efforts on the cup competitions though, as the Europa League presents them with their best chance of making the Champions League next year.

Could Aymeric Laporte move to Barcelona this summer? @ElAficionadofcb

He’s certainly on their summer shopping list but as mentioned previously, finances dictate it would be difficult to spend huge amounts this summer without offsetting that by letting more reserve players leave. The likes of Sandro Ramirez, Munir El Haddadi, Sergi Samper, Adriano, Douglas and even Jeremy Mathieu could be sold to free up funds. Laporte would only go for his full €50m release clause though.

How can Athletic Club step up to the next level? @HerreraTekkers

It’s difficult to break into that next level even with unlimited resources at your disposal, let alone with the restrictions that Athletic Club work under. The easy answer to this would be to keep ahold of their best players, in particular the younger ones such as Iñaki Williams and the previously mentioned Laporte, and continue their success of producing new stars. The biggest task on their hands will be replacing the goals of Aduriz once he retires but I suppose they could move Williams inside.

Which club in Spain is best placed to push on and join the three ‘elite’ clubs and consistently challenge for the title? @RichArrowsmith

You naturally think of Valencia, Sevilla and Villarreal, although it’s hard to envisage any of their overhauling the current top three at the moment. Peter Lim’s Valencia will be handed a substantial cash injection next summer which will allow them to continue to build a team for the future, but a more stable one for the present, while waiting for the new stadium to be finished.

Sevilla have Monchi to rely on when it comes to the transfer market and, alongside Unai Emery, that’s a strong partnership going forward. To challenge the main three they’d need to strengthen their squad though and hope to avoid losing any of their key players to the vultures that often surround the club.

Villarreal are a relatively small club but don’t be fooled, they have a lot of money at their disposal as well. They are capable of breaking into the main trio but, like Sevilla and Valencia, have to avoid selling their star players to those above them. Another factor to consider is head coach Marcelino’s open attitude when it comes to taking over from Vicent del Bosque as Spain supremo after Euro 2016. He demands a lot of his players, perhaps too much at times, but it would be very hard to replace him.

Diego Simeone – any feeling he needs to move on from Atletico, say to Chelsea, or are his ties to club so deep he stays? @spurs_report

The interest from Chelsea is very real but Simeone appears more and more likely to stay at Atletico. He’s spoken many times about leading out the team in their new stadium which is still a couple of years away. Internally, he has complete control and the board know how important the Argentine is when it comes to attracting top tier talent.

I’ve got no doubt he will end up in the Premier League at some stage but it’s hard to see him moving at the moment. Over the course of the summer he brought in a lot of young talent, signalling the dawn of new, younger Atleti side and you sense his level of commitment to the club will see him stay on until a potential ban has been lifted.

Can you see reality catching up on the likes of Eibar, Deportivo and perhaps Villarreal? Basically, will they fall away from top? @CallumBradke

I honestly don’t think so. Will there be ups and downs along the season but all three of the sides you mentioned are set-up to last the pace bar a major injury to a top star. Villarreal are the strongest of the three you mentioned but Deportivo and Eibar have shown enough for you to believe they won’t drop by much, if at all. Victor Sanchez has done a wonderful job at Depor, but losing Lucas Perez would obviously affect the side. Eibar are stronger than last season and actually have the self-belief that was lacking for the second half of the last campaign. A place in the Europa League would be an incredible achievement but it might just be beyond them.

What’s up with Cristiano Ronaldo? Mentally and physically he seems distracted and his performances have been very poor. Are his best days over? @DanBWilliams

There is clearly something effecting Cristiano this season, be that on or off the pitch, and it’s caused him to drop from his very high standards. He doesn’t look happy when he’s out on the pitch and it’s clear to see his poor form - compared to his usual performances - is frustrating him. Could it be Gareth Bale muscling into the limelight? Maybe, but there appears to be a deeper issue at hand here. Perhaps he feels he doesn’t get the respect he deserves for all the individual records he has broken from those at the club but it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see him move on at the end of the season.

Do you think Sergio Rico can reach David De Gea’s level? @RMAchine2261

He’s developing into one of the best young goalkeepers in the game but it’d be unfair to say whether he’s capable of reaching De Gea’s level yet. At the moment he’s enjoying a fine run in the first team at Sevilla and should make it into the Spain squad for Euro 2016. It’ll be interesting to see if Real Madrid make a move for him if they abandon their pursuit of the Manchester United stopper.

Is Malaga’s Recio good enough for a bigger club? @canncall

Recio has done a fine job for Malaga but he’s probably not quite ready to move up a level. In the absence of Ignacio Camacho; it’s true he struggled to protect the defence but has all the tools to succeed. If anyone is likely to move on to greater things then it’ll be Camacho, not him.