Valencia transfer news, rumours, and updates live: Rafa Mir arrives on loan from Sevilla

Valencia Transfer News, Analysis and Overview- 2024

Valencia CF are one of the most historic clubs in Spain. Based in the city of Valencia, they have been calling Mestalla their home ever since 1923. They are one of the founders of La Liga and claim a seat at the top table with the heavyweights. The club is not new to ups and downs throughout their history. Every time they have fallen down, the Bats have bounced back in style.

Valencia rose to fame in the 1940s after the Spanish Civil War. During the 1940s winning the Copa del Rey was considered more prestigious than winning the league title. Valencia won the cup competition in 1941 before clinching their first league title in 1942. They finished the decade with three league titles and two cups.

As the size of the club grew, they failed to maintain the onfield success during the 1950s. European success arrived in the 1960s and they cemented their glory in the 1970s. Alfredo di Stefano was hired as a coach to revive their league fortunes. He delivered their fourth league title and earned them a few cups both domestically and continentally.

The next decade saw them stagnate in the league as well as get relegated. However, in the early 2000s, Valencia rose to the top once again. Lifting two more league titles before suffering two consecutive Champions League final heartbreaks. This marked the end of their dominance though as Valencia were victims of poor financial management from the owner Peter Lim.

Valencia Transfers Club Performance History

Valencia have always favoured recruiting Spaniards to bolster their squad. During the mid-20^th century, they had players from the Iberian peninsula rounding up the squad. However, as the decades passed and scouting networks improved, they started recruiting from around the world.

Valencia had a plethora of players signing for them from South America. Argentinians in particular were very keen to play for the club. This was further complemented by Valencia’s signing of players from all across Europe. International stars like Oleg Salenko, Romario, Claudio Lopez and Ariel Ortega all signed for the Bats.

Valencia Transfer Strategy and Philosophy 

One of the most tried and tested philosophies of Valencia was the usage of their famed academy. They were eager to promote candidates who showed exceptional talents at the youth level.

Also, they were very keen to try out youngsters from other famous academies before signing them. Famous players like David Silva, Juan Mata, Dani Parjeo and Joao Cancelo were signed in this manner. They always proved to be a great pathway for youth into first-team football.

Even in this period of turmoil, Valencia is hopeful that the current crop of academy graduates can steer them clear of the danger zone.

Valencia Transfer 2024 Challenges & criticisms

Financial mismanagement has been one of the main criticisms of the club. Since 2010, the club was in negative finances and had to sell world-class players like David Villa and David Silva to balance the books. After a change in ownership in 2014, Peter Lim was accused of never understanding what the club stood for. His ambitious plans did not match with the on-field performances.

The club was plunging deeper into debt as losses started mounting every season. The pandemic and losses incurred due to it proved to be the last straw as Valencia had to sell the club captain Daniel Parejo to raise finances. This has left the fans in deep dismay and despite the protests, Lim continues to be in charge of the club.

All these factors have led to many uneventful transfer windows. The club had little to no money to spend on players who could raise the floor of the team. Unless and until there is a change in their financial situation, we can not expect major moves from the once-great institution.

Most Expensive Valencia Transfers

Valencia were looking to rebuild after financial instability under Peter Lim. The Singapore-based owner’s method wasn’t widely popular with the fan base. However, he knew that shelling money was a way to win over the fans. After all, who wouldn’t love buying new players that could guide the club to some silverware? In similar hope, Valencia broke their club record fee multiple times between 2015 and 2019.

Goncalo Guedes sits on top of the list as Valencia paid a whopping €40 million for his services to PSG in 2018. The Portuguese forward was touted as the next big thing and Valencia were happy to pay a premium. However, it did not work out for the club and the player as he was shipped off on multiple loans before being sold permanently.

In the following summer, Valencia paid €35 million to Barcelona for Jasper Cillessen. The Dutch custodian spent three seasons at Mestalla before moving to his native Netherlands.

However, it was in 2015 that Valencia really flexed their muscles under Peter Lim as they signed players for whopping fees. Coming in at then club record fee was Enzo Perez from Benfica for €25 million in January 2015.

Then they went on to smash those records in the gap of a few hours as they signed a new strike pair in the summer of 2015. Firstly, Alvaro Negredo was signed from Manchester City at €28 million and hours later Rodrigo was snapped up at €30 million from Benfica. Rodrigo in particular proved to be a massive hit as he scored a crucial winner and helped Valencia win the Copa del Rey in 2019.

Valencia Transfer New Signings 2024/25

Valencia’s financials are a mess right now. This is affecting their ability to act and make moves in the transfer market. As a result, the squad this season is a mix of experience and youth. The youngsters in the squad need to step up as much reinforcement wasn’t done in the window.

Luis Rioja was snapped up at a cut-price deal to help them in the attack. A series of loan moves were made to add to the squad. Highly rated youngsters German Valera and Enzo Barrenechea were signed from Atletico Madrid and Aston Villa respectively on loans.

The talk of the town has to be the retention of the Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. The Georgian international was sold to Liverpool this summer but Valencia convinced Liverpool that they were the best club for his development and kept hold of him.

Valencia Transfers All Outgoing 2024/25

The club had to come to terms with losing their best performers eventually. Firstly, the Brazilian centre-back Gabriel Paulista left for free in January 2024. In the summer, Samu Castillejo’s contract was mutually terminated as the forward failed to turn up for the club and help them on the field.

The biggest worry for Valencia came in the form of Liverpool. Their goalkeeper Mamardashvili had an excellent Euros and caught the eyes of Europe’s elite. Liverpool after multiple rounds of negotiations sealed the deal and compensated Valencia handsomely. They even allowed Valencia to keep hold of the player for another season. This retention is crucial as Mamardashvili is becoming Valencia’s saviour in the relegation dogfight.

Top Signings for Valencia in 2024/25

Of the limited senior signings made by Valencia in the summer window, Rioja has impressed the most. The winger with La Liga experience under his belt has come up with 2 goals in 14 appearances so far this season. He is playing on the right and stretching the opposition with his runs.

Rioja’s most impressive performance has come against Girona. The Spaniard scored a crucial goal as Valencia got their first victory of the season. He has to add more output to his game as Valencia look to avoid the drop.

Enzo Barrenechea has been doing just fine for the club. He has not stood out in any of the games but the signs are he might come good in the second half of the campaign.

Worst Signings for Valencia in 2024/25

It is really tough to pick the worst signing for Valencia as their activity has been extremely limited in the window. With a heavy heart, blame is being put on German Valera. At 22 this was the year many expected Valera to explode.

The Spaniard after multiple loans finally got a chance to deliver in Spain’s top flight. He has been unable to crack the starting 11 on multiple occasions. He is yet to either score or assist in this campaign.

Rafa Mir has been equally disappointing as well. The forward could not simply get going with his new side.

Valencia transfer Spend Till Now

Valencia’s dubious financial record was known to the entire world. They had firebrand sales in the past and it looked like one was on the cards this summer. But they managed to hold off suitors and only submitted once. Valencia played hardball as Liverpool came calling for their goalkeeper. After multiple rounds of Stallings and negotiations, they agreed to a fee of €30 million.

This couldn’t immediately improve their financials as they couldn’t spend it on time. The hope is that they can generate some profit this season and use this wiggle room to act strongly in the transfer window. But for all that, they have to survive the relegation scare this season. Relegation is a very real possibility as they are 19^th in the table after 13 games in the league and 4 points of safety.

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