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San Lorenzo goalkeeper, Cristian Álvarez will fly to Madrid, where he will undergo a medical before officially joining Rayo Vallecano.

The former Espanyol goalkeeper’s San Lorenzo side just won the Copa Libertadores for the first time in club history, but Alvarez did not play a single minute of the match in anticipation of his move back to Spain.

On Monday, Rayo Vallecano sporting director, Felipe Miñambres, confirmed that following the match on 13th August, Alvarez would be flying to Madrid to link up with the squad.

“Cristian will come [to Rayo] when the Libertadores are over. The match against Nacional (of Paraguay) is August 13th and he’s coming on the 14th.

“They rested before the Libertadores and we believe that he will come prepared. He will need to adapt, but has seen us, knows how Rayo play and we didn’t sign him for just one or two games, but for ten months. He will need time to get to know us and adapt, he’s arriving later than the rest, like many who have been in the World Cup, and it is important that he is good, helps us and stops.”

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Atletico Madrid have reportedly submitted a €27 million bid for Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder, Marco Reus.

According to Spanish radio station, Cadena Cope, Atletico Madrid are in negotiations with Borussia Dortmund over the sale of the 25-year-old star.

The report states that the deal could be finalised in the coming days with Atleti paying €17 million up front and a second payment of €10 million in January.

They also state that Barcelona are also in negotiations with Dortmund for the German international over the past several days.

Spanish sports daily AS reported this past Monday that Atlético Madrid were hoping to take advantage of strained relations between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund as they continue to monitor Reus’ situation.

Atlético Madrid were wary of paying €35 million for the 25-year-old, but are hoping that Borussia Dortmund would be willing to lower their asking price so as to avoid selling the player to arch-rivals, Bayern Munich.

Reus currently has three years remaining on his current deal and Borussia Dortmund and Reus have both insisted that there is no truth to any transfer rumours.

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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez traveled to Paris on Wednesday, possibly to discuss the transfer of Angel Di Maria, who has also been strongly linked with Manchester United.

Radio Monte Carlo have reported that although the Real Madrid president is officially on a “business trip”, the real intention of the visit is to speak with PSG’s president Nasser Al Khelaifi about the transfer of Angel Di Maria, and reportedly the French club is still interested in the Argentine, despite Al Khelaifi’s earlier declarations about Di Maria being “too expensive”.

“We spoke to Real about Di Maria but he was too expensive”, Al Khelaifi said during David Luiz’s presentation last week.

The problem preventing Di Maria’s transfer to PSG is believed to be the rules of Financial Fair Play that PSG must follow, and after the signing of David Luiz for 50 million euros, the club must sell before it can purchase any more players. In this case, the signing of Di Maria would most likely require the sale of either Edinson Cavani or Ezequiel Lavezzi.

As PSG is still pondering its options, Manchester United is looking to capitalize on the tricky situation. The United manager Louis Van Gaal is keen on adding the Argentine to his roster, and is looking to persuade Di Maria, who still continues to train with Real Madrid.

According to AS, Di Maria’s mind about leaving the club is already made up, as he doesn’t feel valued in Madrid, where he earns roughly 5 million euros a year, whilst PSG would offer 8 million euros. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, however, resists the Argentine’s departure.

It is also believed, however, that the signing of AS Monaco’s Radamel Falcao is pending final conclusion on Di Maria’s situation, and the Colombian’s transfer to Madrid could be announced once Di Maria’s fate has been agreed upon.

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Reus al Atleti...

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Comunio on fire.

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Elche defensive midfielder, Carlos Sanchez has completed his transfer to English Premier League side, Aston Villa for a fee believed to be around €4 million.

A statement on Aston Villa’s website confirmed the transfer of the Colombian international, who will join Paul Lambert’s side for the next four seasons.

Lambert praised the signing of ‘The Rock’, stating that the club has beaten several teams for the player’s signature.

“We’ve beaten other teams to bring him here to Villa and I’m delighted as we needed someone of his ilk to come in. He’ll be an excellent player for the club.”

Meanwhile, Sanchez was delighted at beginning the new stage of his career.

“I’m delighted to be here, it’s something I have always dreamed of and it is very important for me to be here at Aston Villa, not only for me but for my family as well.

“It was always my aim to play in this country and in this league and I know Villa well as Juan Pablo (Angel, his compatriot) also played here.

“I began to watch Villa games when he came in 2001. He was a goalscorer who was very important to this club and I followed his time here because he was always scoring goals.

“Since I was a boy I have always followed English football, particularly teams where Colombians have played.

“When I had the chance to come to this club I had no doubts because I know this is a big club in the Premier League.”

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Manchester City defensive midfielder, Javi Garcia has completed his £13 million move to Russian Premier League side, Zenit St. Petersburg.

A statement via the club’s official website confirmed that Gracia would be joining the Russian side on a five-year deal.

“Zenit and Manchester City football clubs have reached an agreement for the transfer of Spanish midfielder Javi García to Zenit! García has already undergone a physical examination and will soon join the team.

The contract with García lasts until the end of the 2018/2019 season, and the midfielder will play as number 21 in Zenit.”

The Spanish international passed his standard medical and participated in his first training session with his new club on Friday.

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Elche want to aid the exits of goalkeeper Toño and full-back Cristian Sapunaru, given their high wages, but both players don’t want to leave without covering what remains of their contracts.

Both sporting and financial considerations are being taken into account at Elche, over trying to secure exits for Toño and Cristian Sapunaru. Their high salaries are considered to be hindering other final movements in the transfer market, with the club waiting to arrange their departures, before making any further signings.

Toño currently has two years remaining on his contract, but whilst he has a firm offer from Real Zaragoza, they won’t be paying a fee to Elche for his services and according to local radio station, COPE Elche, he’s unwilling to leave without being covered for the majority of his contract with the club. The 34-year-old was in a similar situation last summer, although Granada did manage to secure a small fee, when he made the move to Elche.

Christian Sapunaru meanwhile has been performing well in pre-season, although Elche remain keen to get his salary of around €1.2 million a season, off their books. At the moment, he is currently of the same disposition as Toño, unwilling to leave without the remainder of his contract being settled.

Neither of the two players are apparently willing to facilitate their exits with ease though, having both reportedly placed their situations at the hands of footballers union, AFE, to ensure their contractual rights are protected and they’re paid in full for the remainder of their respective contracts, if they’re to be released by Elche.

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Sevilla are busy weighing up options to replace Alberto Moreno, following his sale to Liverpool, with Portuguese full-back Vitorino Antunes once more on the agenda.

It’s not the first time that Málaga left-back Vitorino Antunes has been strongly linked with Sevilla, after the Portuguese player admitted he would be interested in such a move, earlier this summer.

Given the long-awaited sale of Alberto Moreno to Liverpool has now gone through, Sevilla could now make their move for Antunes and according to Estadio Deportivo, Málaga are now preparing themselves for the arrival of a formal offer and to start negotiations.

The agent of Antunes has claimed there has been no contact between the two clubs over recent days, but admits “anything can happen” and is expected to pay a visit to Málaga next week, to discuss the future of his client at La Rosaleda.

In the meantime and until a permanent replacement for Alberto Moreno is signed, Sevilla have turned to B team player Moisés Delgado López, simply known as ‘Moi’. The 20-year-old formed part of the squad that travelled for the mini-Asian tour at the end of last season.

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Atletico Madrid are reportedly closing in on Torino forward, Alessio Cerci for a fee of €16-20 million.

According to Italian sports daily, La Gazzetta dello Sport, Atletico Madrid and Torino are close to finalising a deal for the 27-year-old star, with the two sides now battling it out over a €4 million gap.

The report goes on to add that Atletico Madrid are standing firm on their €16 million offer, while Torino refuse to announce the deal as official for anything less than €20 million.

However, it is believed that this gap in price will be resolved soon and the Italian international will be on his way to joining Diego Simeone’s stellar squad.

Atletico Madrid recently signed Club America striker, Raul Jimenez, who made his debut in Saturday evening’s Trofeo Carranza win over Sampdoria.

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Fernando Llorente could be set for a return to La Liga, if an approach by Valencia is accepted by Juventus, who in turn are said to be trying to land Radamel Falcao from Monaco.

An interesting striker exchange could take place ahead of the summer transfer deadline, with Italian side Juventus at the centre of negotiations.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday, the Serie A champions are considering interest from Valencia for Basque striker, Fernando Llorente, with an estimated bid of around €10 million currently on the table. The Italian side however, are hoping to achieve double that amount, but could be open to flexible negotiations, as they set their sights on a potent replacement.

Radamel Falcao has become a focus of interest for Juventus, with Monaco apparently willing to consider letting the Colombian move out on loan for a season, if his salary is covered in full.

To afford that, Llorente is the player who is most likely to be sacrificed, which means Juventus would prefer to sell him to Valencia, rather than consider a loan deal, in order to achieve a sizeable transfer fee and clear his wages from their books.

Llorente himself has recently suggested he’s content with life at Juventus, particularly following the arrival of Morata from Real Madrid, who he’s been helping to settle in at the club.

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Currently unsettled at Spartak Moscow, 28-year-old José Manuel Jurado is reportedly set to make a return to Atlético Madrid, four seasons after leaving the club.

Keen to sign another playmaker before the transfer deadline this summer, Atlético Madrid are attempting to bring José Manuel Jurado back to the club, having left for Schalke 04 in 2010.

After his spell with the German outfit, he moved further east and to Russian side Spartak Moscow, but despite good form last season, Jurado is apparently out of favour.

Radio network COPE have suggested that talks between Spartak Moscow and Atlético Madrid are already in progress, with an initial loan deal said to be the preferred option. Jurado is also keen on making a return to Spain, with his agent Eduardo Espejo working hard to make that a reality as soon as possible.

In addition, it is also suggested that Jurado will take a massive pay cut, in order to facilitate the move, accepting a drop of more than half his current salary, to rejoin Atlético Madrid.

Jurado started his career at Real Madrid, before moving across town to Atlético, where he made 124 appearances in all competitions, scoring 11 goals. In the midst of his time with Atlético, he also spent the 2008-2009 season on loan with Mallorca in the Primera, producing a good return of 9 goals in 35 games

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Atletico Madrid are reportedly closing in on Torino forward, Alessio Cerci for a fee of €16-20 million.

According to Italian sports daily, La Gazzetta dello Sport, Atletico Madrid and Torino are close to finalising a deal for the 27-year-old star, with the two sides now battling it out over a €4 million gap.

The report goes on to add that Atletico Madrid are standing firm on their €16 million offer, while Torino refuse to announce the deal as official for anything less than €20 million.

However, it is believed that this gap in price will be resolved soon and the Italian international will be on his way to joining Diego Simeone’s stellar squad.

Atletico Madrid recently signed Club America striker, Raul Jimenez, who made his debut in Saturday evening’s Trofeo Carranza win over Sampdoria.

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Sevilla are busy weighing up options to replace Alberto Moreno, following his sale to Liverpool, with Portuguese full-back Vitorino Antunes once more on the agenda.

It’s not the first time that Málaga left-back Vitorino Antunes has been strongly linked with Sevilla, after the Portuguese player admitted he would be interested in such a move, earlier this summer.

Given the long-awaited sale of Alberto Moreno to Liverpool has now gone through, Sevilla could now make their move for Antunes and according to Estadio Deportivo, Málaga are now preparing themselves for the arrival of a formal offer and to start negotiations.

The agent of Antunes has claimed there has been no contact between the two clubs over recent days, but admits “anything can happen” and is expected to pay a visit to Málaga next week, to discuss the future of his client at La Rosaleda.

In the meantime and until a permanent replacement for Alberto Moreno is signed, Sevilla have turned to B team player Moisés Delgado López, simply known as ‘Moi’. The 20-year-old formed part of the squad that travelled for the mini-Asian tour at the end of last season.

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Sevilla were linked with a move for Croatian central midfielder Milan Badelj earlier this summer, now they’re reportedly a step closer to making his signing a reality.

25-year-old Milan Badelj is a player that Sevilla sporting director Monchi has long admired, with the player amongst the leading candidates in his shopping list, to strengthen their midfield options.

Earlier this summer, Sevilla were linked with tentative enquiries by Estadio Deportivo, whilst Atlético Madrid were also interested, but now it appears the Andaluz side have opened further talks and wish to proceed further, according to German sports paper Bild, who have suggested that Hamburg are more willing to sell Badelj now.

Following the departure of Ivan Rakitic to Barcelona, bringing in midfield reinforcements has been somewhat of a priority for Monchi and Sevilla, although so far, they have met with frustration for the most part.

However, Ever Banega seems set to complete a move from Valencia next week, once they agree a price with Sevilla and they’re also hopeful a deal can be reached with Hamburg for Badelj.

The Croatian is into the final year of his contract with Hamburg, so Sevilla are haggling to outlay as little as possible for the player, with estimates suggesting that they’ll pay less than €4 million.