Alvaro Valles move, Koke renewal, Manchester United talks with La Liga giants

Matteo Moretto gives Football España exclusive information on the latest deals dominating the papers in Spain, as revealed in the Daily Briefing.

The truth is the deal was stagnant. There was real distance between the two sides. Last week this changed, they re-opened talks and things went very positively. Beforehand, talks were at a dead end, there was a gap between the two sides, it really looked far off.

Of course, the willingness of Koke, who wants to remain in Madrid 100%, and the desire of Atletico to retain him, were key and the dynamics changed as a result. Right now, it looks as if an agreement is imminent. I’d say it could be closed in the international break coming after this weekend. It’s obviously a really important deal for Atletico, their captain.

Regarding the terms of the deal, it looks as if it will be a year-on-year deal, which depends on Koke hitting a predetermined number of games played.

Los Rojiblancos have not changed their plans, clearly they are not going to look for a Koke replacement, but they are still looking for opportunities in the transfer market regarding midfielders.

Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles has concrete interest from Real Betis, but there are teams in the Premier League that are following him closely too. Aston Villa are one of the teams that are watching him closest. Villa and Betis are the two at the moment.

Atletico Madrid are paying close attention to Greenwood’s situation, but there’s been no movement beyond that. It remains true that Manchester United have not made up their minds 100% on what they want to do with Greenwood, what with the new ownership coming in, and potentially a new manager too.

What is clear is that Greenwood does not want to go back to Manchester United. He wants to leave, and he would be very happy to stay in Spain, but what could get in the way of that is his price tag. United will want to get as much money as they can get out of a deal for him.

It’s a story that will continue unfolding, because Atletico are interested and so are other clubs, but Barcelona are not one of them. They are not in the race for Greenwood.

Regarding other conversations, Manchester United were speaking with various clubs, but more generally to see if there are opportunities in the market, what players could be available. They would like to strengthen all over the pitch, so they were testing the waters to see what was out there