Advertisement

La Liga Leaks: Pogba, Gameiro/Vietto swap, Pato joining La Liga side, Bacca return

Another day, another Paul Pogba story. Unfortunately, like most of the ‘updates’ in the past week, there isn’t a lot of substance to it. MARCA say the Frenchman is waiting for Real Madrid to make a last minute move but he’ll be left disappointed unless something dramatic happens in the next 48-72 hours. Zinedine Zidane is a huge fan of Pogba’s but knows the club can’t reach the sums talked about in the press, at least not without letting someone like James Rodriguez go. This appears unlikely and it seems he has two choices: re-join Manchester United or stay at Juventus.

Last night ‘Diario de Sevilla’ were the first to break the news of an agreement between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla for Luciano Vietto. Since then other major news outlets have followed suit and backed up the story. The Argentine will initially join Jorge Sampaoli’s men on loan - with a €3m loan fee - and they’ll be an option to make it permanent for €20m at the conclusion of the upcoming campaign.

This would seem to signal the arrival of Kevin Gameiro at Atletico Madrid. The Sevilla man pulled out of a friendly at the last minute to continue his discussions with Monchi as well as his agent. It appears his move, like Vietto’s, is imminent. Barcelona haven’t given up entirely on luring Gameiro to the Camp Nou, with MARCA saying Diego Costa remains first choice for Diego Simeone. However AS say the fact Gameiro gave the ‘yes’ to Atletico, knowing Barca were interested, shows how determined the player is to join the Madrid club.

As you can imagine this has forced Barcelona to revise their targets and various newspapers are offering different names. Mundo Deportivo believe the ‘Plan B’, should a move for Vietto fall through, is Carlos Bacca. The ex-Sevilla man is looking for a new club and rejected the chance to join West Ham last week. Talks haven’t begun yet because Barcelona still believe there’s a chance Vietto could join but, if not, Bacca is an alternative.

MARCA decide to add other names to the list of back up options. The first is a relatively new one and that’s Alexandre Lacazette. The Lyon frontman is continuously linked with moves to both La Liga and the Premier League but, after already selling Samuel Umtiti, Lyon don’t need the money and could play hardball with the Catalans. The other name on the list is Lucas Perez, who is stalling over signing a new deal at Deportivo as he awaits developments. Aware he isn’t first choice, the Spanish striker is happy to wait and see whether Barcelona will eventually come calling should other options fall by the wayside.

Villarreal have signed Alexandre Pato according to Corinthians ex-president, Andres Sanchez. “We’ve sold him. You were sure we wouldn’t sell the player but we have. The president will announce it later.” The Brazilian forward spent the second half of last season on loan at Chelsea but didn’t do enough for the London club to sign him on a permanent basis. He’ll join for €3m while keeping 40% of any future fee for himself.

Other news and rumours:

- Martin Odegaard will complete the preseason tour with Real Madrid - as stated in his contract - before going out on loan, most likely to a German side. (AS)

- Sevilla continue to express an interest in signing Valencia’s Dani Parejo. They are willing to pay up to €15m for the midfielder but Los Che are unlikely to sell, and least of all to a direct rival. (Superdeporte)

- Real Madrid are also waiting to hear concrete interest from both La Liga and Premier League sides for Jese Rodriguez, who wants a move to get more minutes under his belt. (MARCA)

- Should Shkodran Mustafi leave Valencia this summer, Valencia would make a move for Raul Albiol. (Plaza Deportiva)

- Fernando Llorente could cause a storm in the Basque region of Spain as he looks set to join Real Sociedad, arch rivals to his former club Athletic Club. (MARCA)

- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has said ‘only Real Madrid’ could tempt him to leave Borussia Dortmund. (MARCA)