Valencia land Rodri

Valencia completed their 5th signing since new manager Barlow took over, as they announced they had agreed a deal to sign young midfielder Rodri from fellow La Liga rivals Real Betis. With the two sides set to meet on Friday evening, the game already had an edge with Betis swooping in to sign full-back Kwando Asamoah, who had been on trial with Los Che, but the reverse transfer of Rodri, for a fee thought to be around £1 million, is bound to add further spice to the clash.

As a youngster, Rodri began with local side Talayuela, before also having a sting with Real Madrid where he represented their academy back in 2011. He then spent time on loan with fellow Madrid based side CD Canillas, before making a switch across the capital to sign for bitter rivals Atlético Madrid in 2012. A season later he was on the move again, this time switching to Barcelona to join the youth set-up at Espanyol. Clearly unafraid to make controversial moves, in June 2014 he was moving cross city again, this time to join the famed la Masia set up at Catalan giants Barcelona. Further moves then saw him also spend time with Deportivo de La Coruña before eventually settling at Betis in 2016. After 2 years in the youth setup with the Sevilla based club, Rodri eventually made his debut with the B side in August 2018, coming on as a second half substitute. He grabbed his first goal a few months later, scoring in an 8-0 thrashing of CD Gerena.

Becoming a regular with the B side, there was no real surprise when the club extended the young midfielders contract until 2022 the following summer. In total he made 29 appearances with the B side last season, scoring 6 goals and leading to interest from several clubs as a consequence. With Real looking to bring him into the first team setup, Valencia made their move, activating the 20 year old’s release clause before then agreeing a 3 year contract with the left-footed midfielder, who can also play down the left if required, although he prefers to play in an attacking central role.