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It was a case of much of the same for Spain in the January transfer window. Loans were the order of the day, as clubs looked to not only add quality to their squads but also depth.
There were no major deals made by Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid. Instead, it was largely a case of teams near the bottom of the league who made the moves. With little to no money around those clubs, it explains why loans were so frequent.
In total, only £20m was spent in the entire month by La Liga clubs. Much of the business involving money was done early, with Sevilla in particular, bolstering their squad for an unprecedented title push.
So what were the eye-catching deals in the last 48 hours of the transfer window?
Jese - Las Palmas
Arguably the headline-grabbing deal in Spain. Jese has returned home, to his boyhood club Las Palmas. And boy, do they need each other. On the part of the club, Las Palmas were desperately seeking attacking reinforcements given Sergio Araujo’s fall from grace at the club - culminating in his exit.
Despite being one of the more eye-catching teams in Spain with their brand of expansive, free-flowing football, goals have been hard to come by for Quique Setien’s men. They need not only a player who can break down defences, but also score. Jese fits the bill perfect.
For the player meanwhile, this move comes as a relief for Jese after an underwhelming time in France. The idea of PSG was appealing to Jese, and he has the ability and ambition to play for the club, but ultimately Unai Emery saw no way of fitting the player into his setup.
The arrival of Julian Draxler signalled the end for Jese, and the subsequent arrival of Goncalo Guedes was salt in the wound. Jese needs to humble himself slightly, and get the enjoyment back in his game. Las Palmas can provide the right sort of football to suit his needs, and a good environment for the player to settle in. There is indeed, no place like home.
Alberto Bueno - Leganes
After a dismal spell at Granada - a fate familiar for many - Alberto Bueno gets another chance to recapture the spirit of his time at Rayo Vallecano. There he managed 27 goals over two seasons, coming somewhere near to fulfilling the potential he had as a very exciting youngster.
His new team Leganes have only scored 15 goals this season, the lowest total in Spain’s top flight, so Bueno hitting the ground running would be most welcome.
Played in the right system, the 28-year-old can be a huge threat. At Granada, he wasn’t given the freedom or opportunity to showcase his ability, but at Leganes he might just get that given their need to be more expansive on the field.
Overall the club did excellent work on the final day of the window, announcing five signings in just four hours, and were certainly one of the winners on the day when it came to improving their squad. A busy day at the office, indeed.
Fabian Orellana - Valencia
Experience, proven quality. Two things Valencia desperately needed on the final day of the window, and in one man they found both. Fabian Orellana should not have been available quite frankly, but given some drama at Celta Vigo in recent weeks he found himself unwanted. Valencia have taken advantage, and in doing so snap up a key piece in their battle against relegation - and perhaps even a late surge to the top half of the table.
Valencia’s squad is bustling with youth and they’ve drastically needed a touch of experience to settle them on the field, as well as a cool head in the final third. Orellana is exactly that. He’s was dubbed Celta’s very own Alexis Sanchez while in Vigo, and Valencia could well reap the same rewards of the Chilean’s attributes.
He’s a vibrant, technically gifted, clever footballer who can both unlock a defence and finish himself. It takes pressure off Valencia’s young pups in attack, and brings in a new dimension of player the team previously did not have.
Rodrigo Ely - Alaves
A red card and an own goal in his first two Milan games was unfortunate for Rodrigo Ely, who aside from those high-profile incidents, showed immense promise at the club. Milan, of course, have been going through a series of changes and Ely was just one more player caught up in that. His performances otherwise had been impressive and with patience, he could’ve developed into a very solid Serie A defender.
Unfortunately, he was not afforded that time, and Alaves could well be the ideal place for the Brazilian to give his career a much-needed kick-start. Alaves have performed well above expectations so far in LaLiga since their promotion, and some fine tuning was all that was needed in this January transfer window. They did just that and appear not to have upset the balance of the squad, whilst improving weak areas of the team.
Walter Montoya - Sevilla
It took something special for Walter Montoya to turn down River Plate and Boca Juniors in his homeland, and Jorge Sampaoli was that very thing. Montoya turned his back on Argentina’s two giants to make the move to Sevilla and join Sampaoli’s revolution in the south of Spain.
Montoya’s been shining with Rosario Central for some time, and it wasn’t just Sampaoli keen on his talent - Sevilla’s famed Sporting Director Monchi, had been a keen admirer all along. Montoya is someone who fits the characteristics of what this Sevilla team requires; excellent first touch, speed and attacks space with plenty of aggression.
He can play in a variety of roles but it’s expected he will play either as a winger or as an attacking midfielder. There’s plenty of competition for places at Sevilla now in the attacking department but Montoya is more than capable of working his way into Sampaoli’s immediate plans.
