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Valencia pulls off a coup by signing strike pair - Soccer Times

Valencia pulls off a coup by signing strike pair

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Last season Valencia returned to the top-four of La Liga under the highly-rated Marcelino. Los Ches finished fourth in the table behind perennial top-three Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

No doubt they were one of the stories of the Spanish top-flight last season. While Los Ches look unlikely to challenge for the Spanish title, they could remain in the top-four after the signings of strikers Kevin Gameiro and Michy Batshuayi from Atletico Madrid and Chelsea respectively.

The pair will score goals this season

Both of the clubs new additions know how to find the back of the net. Gameiro’s ability has been rather underused used at Atletico Madrid, with a number of his appearances coming from the bench. In fact, of his 56 La Liga appearances for Atleti, 24 came from the bench. The French striker still managed a respective 19 La Liga goals.

The 31-year-old may well be utilised from the bench at Valencia too, as Los Ches already have Italian international Simone Zaza and Spanish star Rodrigo in their squad. If called upon, no doubt the forward will be a useful asset to the Spanish side.

Batshuayi is unlikely to have moved to Valencia just to be a squad player though. The Belgium international reportedly turned down a permanent move to Sevilla to make the temporary switch to Valencia.

The 24-year-old has never really managed to nail down a place in the Chelsea starting line-up. The fact that the striker has started just four league games for the Blues illustrated his frustration career thus far at Stamford Bridge.

However, after joining Bundesliga side Dortmund in last January’s transfer window from the Blues, the striker scored seven times in ten appearances to help BVB claim a Champions League spot. Dortmund wanted to sign the striker on a permanent basis, but the German club could not afford to sign the striker.

The forward looks very capable of scoring goals in most of Europe’s top leagues. It will be interesting to see how he does in the Spanish top-flight. If he plays on a regular basis, I have no doubts that he will score goals in La Liga.

Aiming for another top-four finish

As previously mentioned Valencia, do not look like genuine title contenders on paper anyway. However, with the players who arrived this summer married and the squad from last season, another top-four challenge is definitely Los Ches aim for the season.

Marcelino has proven to be a shrewd boss for Los Ches. However, the top three are just too far ahead of Valencia in squad depth, quality and resources. The signings of Gameiro and Batshuayi are certainly a step in the right direction for Los Ches though.

The strikers will add very different attributes to a very impressive Valencia side for this season. Los Ches kick-off their season with a game against Atletico Madrid on Monday night, which will be a chance for Gameiro to come up against his old team.

Will the signings of Gameiro and Batshuayi be successful signings for Valencia?

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