Spain

Real's Mijatovic Wants Valencia On Loan

After weeks of speculation, Los Blancos have finally unveiled their transfer plans for Wigan’s Antonio Valencia.

Dec 31, 2008 1:19:19 AM

EPL: Antonio Valencia - Nadir Belhadj, Portsmouth v Wigan Athletic (PA)

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EPL: Antonio Valencia - Nadir Belhadj, Portsmouth v Wigan Athletic (PA)

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Luis Antonio Valencia

Following a few rounds of preliminary dialogue, Real Madrid appear to have reached a decision in their attempt to sign Luis Antonio Valencia from Premier League side, Wigan Athletic in the winter trade period.

Los Blancos sporting director, Predrag Mijatovic is believed to be in favour of a six-month loan deal for the 23-year-old, with the option to buy the player outright come June during the summer transfer market.

Madrid-based sports daily AS has speculated that there are two reasons why Mijatovic is opposed to the idea of purchasing the Ecuadorian winger in January. Firstly, Wigan is demanding a transfer fee of €18 million, well over the club’s budget after having already coughed up close to €40 on Lassana Diarrà and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

The second reason is that the ‘White House’ are, again, reluctant to splash an excessive amount at the midway point of the season as they look to tighten their wallets to prepare a mega-money move for a high profile player at the end of the campaign, possibly Karim Benzema or a certain Portuguese by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo.

At this stage, neither Madrid nor Wigan have confirmed whether or not the loan proposal for Valencia has been made official.

--KS Leong, Goal.com