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La Liga: How each club fared in the summer transfer market.

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There were no La Liga fixtures last weekend due to the international break so instead, here’s a breakdown of what each side has done with their money over the course of the summer transfer window. Who were the best movers in the market? Who fell short?

Athletic Club

The biggest signing for Athletic Club came towards the end of the window as they prised Raul Garcia away Atletico Madrid. The midfielder spent 8 seasons at the Calderon – although he was loaned out to Osasuna for one of those – and won an impressive six major trophies there. After falling further down the pecking order he decided his time was up and his drive, determination and eye for goal could be crucial in Athletic Club’s bid for European football next season.

6/10

Atletico Madrid

For a lot of people in Spain – and abroad – Atletico Madrid were the most impressive movers this summer. As has become increasing common for Diego Simeone during his tenure at Atletico, he was faced with the task of replacing various members of the first team squad and, on the face of it, has done another sterling job.

Jackson Martinez, Luciano Vietto and Carrasco where brought in to replace the outgoing Arda Turan, Mario Mandzukic and Raul Jimenez. There were also changes in defence as they sold centre backs Joao Miranda and Toby Alderweireld before bringing in Stefan Savic. This summer also featured the swift return of Filipe Luis after the full back failed to establish himself at Chelsea.

9/10

FC Barcelona

Most people didn’t expect Barcelona to make any new signings this summer as they completed their transfer ban, however while there is a ban in place for registering players, there isn’t one against signing them. Arda Turan was signed to add an extra dimension to the Barcelona attack, be that either from midfield or as a rotation option for the ‘MSN’ combination. Aleix Vidal had a wonderful season at Sevilla and comes in to offset the dependence on Dani Alves at right back as well as other another option on the wing. Both are unavailable to play until January.

They did say goodbye to two important players though. Xavi joined Qatari side Al Sadd after 18 wonder seasons in Cataluña while Pedro swapped Barcelona for London, joining Chelsea at the end of August in the search for regular first team football. Alex Song, Gerard Deulofeu, Ibrahim Afellay and Adama Traore all left for the Premier League as well during the course of the summer.

6/10

Real Betis

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One of the sides to capture the imagination of a lot of neutral fans this summer were Real Betis. Early on they reached an agreement to sign free agent Rafael Van der Vaart after his contract with Hamburg had expired. The talented yet injury-prone midfielder’s mother actually comes from Betis so it was a homecoming of sorts for the Dutch international.

And you can’t mention the word homecoming without talking about Joaquin. The former Spain star returned to where it all began for him 16 years ago. His presentation was attended by nearly 17,000 fans and captured the hearts of not only those at Betis but up and down the entire country.

8/10

Celta Vigo

Celta focused primarily on boosting their attacking options, snapping up former Premier League pair Iago Aspas and Guidetti from Sevilla and Manchester City respectfully. This was after losing Santi Mina (Valencia) and Charles (Malaga). Another key signing was Danish international Wass from Evian. A talented wide man, comfortable on both feet, will look to replace the influence his fellow countryman Krohn-Dehli had on the side.

Despite not being a new signing, it was a major boost for the fans to see Nolito remain at the club despite being linked with a move away throughout the summer period.

7/10

Deportivo La Coruña

It was a revolving door policy at Deportivo as major changes were made to give the side a better chance of survival. They won’t struggle for pace as Jonas Guitierrez arrived after being let go by Newcastle United, while Fede Cartabia joined on loan from fellow La Liga side Valencia. Fernando Navarro will add much needed experience at the back, while Lucas and Mosquera are quality additions to the midfield. Luis Alberto, on loan from Liverpool, will be keen to impress as he is expected to lead the line this term.

7/10

Eibar

It was quite the summer for the small Basque club as they began it expecting to start in La Segunda but were beneficiaries of Elche’s financial problems and regained their place amongst the Spanish elite. Like Deportivo, they were tasked with forming a new side from scratch. A lot of last season’s stars such as Errasti left the club, as well as manager Gaizka Garitano.

They’ve made some very smart signings under new coach Jose Luis Mandilibar. Adrian Gonzalez arrives on a free transfer and will provide much needed experience in midfield. Borja Baston, who scored 23 goals last season for Real Zaragoza, will be tasked alongside Sergi Enrich of scoring the goals to keep Eibar safe from the drop this time around.

7/10

Espanyol

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Financial restrictions have made life tough for Sergio Gonzalez’s men. They lost club talisman Sergio Garcia to Al-Rayyan, goalkeeper Kiko Casilla to Real Madrid, key defender Hector Moreno to PSV and Stuani to Middlesbrough.

They did a good job of replacing the forward line as they signed Gerard Moreno from Villarreal and also securing the loan of Spain U19 star Marco Asensio from La Liga heavyweights Real Madrid. If all parts of the side click they could become one of the surprise packages this season.

6/10

Getafe

The Madrid-based club managed to secure the loan signing of Bernard Mensah this season, straight after he signed a permanent deal at Atletico Madrid. The combative midfielder was linked with a host of clubs and he’ll be given a chance to impress at Getafe. Alongside Bernard in midfield you’ll find Alvaro Medran, one of the brightest prospects in Real Madrid’s academy, alongside Moi Gomez who had an impression campaign last time out with Villarreal.

6/10

Granada

Major changes were undertaken at Granada as well. The enigma which is Thievy will expected to help out young starlet Isaac Success in the goalscoring department while a lot is expected from the two men on loan from Valencia – Robert Ibañez and Salva Ruiz. The only player who they’ve actually spent money on is Slovenian international Rene Krhin from Inter Milan. He was on loan to Cordoba in the second half of last season.

5/10

Las Palmas

After 14 years away from La Liga, new boys Las Palmas are another that have seen attack as their best form of defence when it comes to summer signings. Sergio Araujo’s move was made permanent after he spent last season on loan at Las Palmas, scoring an impressive 25 goals in the process. Jonathan Viera, another loanee from their promotion campaign, signed for €900,000 to add extra bite in front of goal. Pedro Bigas will be expected to lead from the back after an impressive preseason campaign and fans are curious to see what winger Wakaso can do.

7/10

Levante

It’s been a tough summer for Levante as they lost a lot of key players. Main goal scorer David Barral left, as did midfield enforcers Momo Sissoko and Pape Diop. A lot of that pressure now falls on new signing Deyverson who cost the club a cool €2m. The Brazilian striker’s career hasn’t really got going yet but Levante will be hoping that Deyverson can be their ‘Jonathas’ and fire them away from the relegation places.

5/10

Malaga

They are another side that has needed to rebuild during the summer months as they lost Samu Castillejo and Samu Garcia to Villarreal, as well as Darder to Lyon. It left gaping holes in the their attack. The club turned to Charles, signed from Celta Vigo, and also securing the permanent transfer of Amrabat – a tricky winger that, if not for inconsistency, would be at one of the bigger clubs in the league. Former Eibar man, Raul Albentosa, will look to plug the gaps in defence. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of a role veteran striker Roque Santa Cruz will play for them. They could struggle this time out.

5/10

Rayo

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Paco Jemez is similar to Diego Simeone in that he has to rebuild a side every season but that’s where the similarities end. There is little money available at Rayo so it’s down to him and his team to secure good loan deals and free transfers. Bebe, Pablo Hernandez and Castilla youngster Diego Llorente arrived on loan while Manucho signed on a free transfer. They’ll need to help replace the invaluable goals of Alberto Bueno who signed for Porto. It’s a big test for Rayo.

6/10

Real Madrid

It’s been a relatively quiet window for Madrid. They finally secured a replacement for Luka Modric in Kovacic, as the side lost its rhythm without little Luka pulling the strings last season. Danilo adds competition for Carvajal at right back while Cheryshev and Casemiro return from their loan deals. Kiko Casilla will compete with Keylor Navas for the no.1 jersey after club legend Iker Casillas left the club.

7/10

Real Sociedad

David Moyes has strengthened his side this term as La Real look to get back amongst the chasing pack for the European places. Goalkeeper Rulli remains on loan despite interest from Valencia. Illarramendi’s return was made official at last and he’ll be key in the side achieving their goals; offering much needed quality in the centre of midfield. Jonathas and Bruma the key additions further up the pitch. The Brazilian was impressive on loan at Elche last season and will need to help out Carlos Vela in attack.

8/10

Sevilla

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Monchi has proven himself to be the master of the transfer market again this term. After losing Bacca and Aleix Vidal for their respective buyout clauses, he moved quickly to secure the signings of tricky winger Konoplyanka and Krohn-Dehli on free transfers, Gael Kakuta from Chelsea and the loan signing of Immobile. Fernando Llorente will add experience up front and an alternative to the other forwards on their books. They’ll be fighting for fourth again.

9/10

Sporting Gijon

Sporting were promoted on goal difference ahead of Girona on the final day of last season after their head-to-head records were the same, but impressively only lost twice in the entire campaign. It is that resolute defence and work ethic which will be key if they are to avoid relegation. Barcelona prodigy Alen Halilovic will be required to step up and make a difference, as will another Barcelona old boy in Antonio Sanabria, who joins on loan from Roma. We all saw from their performance against Real Madrid that no one will find it easy against the boys from Gijon this season.

6/10

Valencia

Los Che were the biggest spenders in La Liga this summer but that fact is slightly skewed as most of the deals were agreed last summer, only delayed until this one as a way to avoid FFP. Negredo, Andre Gomes, Rodrigo, Cancelo all played at Valencia last year. Bakkali and Santi Mina show the club’s continued interest in snapping up impressive youngsters.

The biggest outgoing was that of defensive lynchpin Nicolas Otmamendi. Monaco’s Abdennour and Braga’s Aderlan Santos will look to replace him. Mustafi will be entrusted in keeping the backline in order. They’ll want Champions League football again but it’ll be as tough, if not tougher, than last year.

8/10

Villarreal

Another active side in the transfer market as they lost top scorer Vietto, as well as fellow forwards Giovani Dos Santos, Uche and Gerard Moreno. They tried to re-sign Cheryshev on loan but Real Madrid closed the door on any potential deal. It wasn’t looking good for the Yellow Submarines.

They signed the two Samus from Malaga but left it late to secure an impressive list of attacking options. Soldado, Bakambu and Leo Baptistao arrived before the signings of Denis Suarez and Adrian Lopez were also confirmed in the final couple of days to complete the squad. On paper, it’s probably the fourth best attack in the league – and one to be feared. They’ll want European football next season.

9/10