Forget Stones or the Eiffel Tower. Nolito, No party…
I got it. He just turned 29 last Thursday; has never been “world class” or, as some are wont to say, “Chelsea quality” all his career; heck, he couldn’t even make the leap, from the fabled La Masia to the Barcelona first team; and, you know, he takes home less than a million quid annually, but have you ever wondered who has been La Liga’s standout performer this term? Ahead of, yes you guessed it, the gods Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi? Well, you’re in luck ladies and gentlemen; look no further than one Manuel Agudo Durán.
Durán aka Nolito, an uber technical no.10 operator who also takes to the right winger role like a fish in the sea, isn’t just the new cool of Spanish football or the livewire and mainstay of Celta Vigo, but is increasingly becoming the prime transfer target of European and Spanish champions Barcelona, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
The Mirror recently suggested our local rivals Arsenal were ready to battle for his services in the January transfer window after the player attracted the attention of manager Arsene Wenger with an impressive start to the season, scoring 5 goals and 3 assists in 7 La Liga games plus 3 MOTM performances. But in tucking home Celta’s second goal in yesterday’s lunchtime game against an in-form Villareal side for his 4th MOTM gong to take his tally to 6 in 8 and the Galicia outfit to the summit of the La Liga BBVA standings, second on the table to Real Madrid on goal difference, it goes without saying what a gem the Andulasian is.
In fact, with our well-documented problems up front as well as the lure of Champions League football we can offer plus the fact that he has just two years left on his existing contract, of which his is stalling on an extension, there’s no gainsaying how a solid punt in the winter transfer window can see us bagging this gem. Surely, if we can gazump Manchester United to a deal then the small matter of gazumping Arsenal to one would be no biggie, would it?
While reports have since claimed the north London club may have an advantage to secure his services due to Barcelona’s financial struggles, with Catalan paper Mundo Deportivo claiming the Gunners plan to make him an “astronomical bid” and triple his wages to convince him to shun a move to his former side, the player on his part has tried to clarify the situation during an interview with AS, a Madrid-based broadsheet, where he admits football in the future is always uncertain.
Asked whether Arsenal have made an approach, he said:
“I don’t know. If Arsenal want me, I do not know if they have spoken to Celta but not with me. And Barcelona either.
“Honestly I cannot talk about the future because you never know what will happen. The only truth is that I belong to Celta. I’m very happy here. There have been many rumours about since last year but I’m still in Vigo.”
In practice, and from experience, tell me quotes along these lines don’t almost always translate to players wanting to move clubs and I’ll tell you Arsene Wenger is Jose Mourinho’s greatest fan.
Celta Vigo sporting director Miguel Torrecilla recently claimed the club were on the verge of rewarding Nolito with a new deal that will see his release clause increasing from £13.2m ($20.5m) to £18.4m. Some reports have since suggested the player is holding off signing the deal to facilitate a January departure.
Nolito said: “The club knows what is missing with my agent and when they reach an agreement it will be signed. We are in a free country and everyone can think what they want. I have always been clear. I have my principles and if someone has any doubts is their problem.”
The Spain international claimed during the summer that he would only leave the Balaídos to return to the Nou Camp. However, with Arsenal now in the race, he refused to rule out a move somewhere else, remarking: “I honestly do not know. You never know what can happen in the future. All I can that today I’m very happy in Vigo and that my idea is to continue at Celta.”
After all said and done, methinks the player wants to move, and just as any late bloomer, chances are that Nolito, who almost singlehandedly dragged Celta from the murky waters of relegation last term to safety and now to the summit of the Spanish topflight, might well be playing at the highest level late late into his thirties, just like Didier Drogba.
Can the likes of Patrick Bamford, Dominic Solanke, Izzy Brown and even former Celta man and Spanish teammate Diego Costa benefit from the technical brilliance and work ethic of the former Benfica and Grenada playmaker/forward as a teammate? You bet.
Is he in his prime, with little or no injury history and potentially a glorious replacement to the soon-to-vamose Radamel Falcao? Well, your guess is as good as mine.
Come on Jose, do me this one favour … if nothing, at least the mere one-up on Wenger would be worth its weight in gold, no?
Forget the vanity pursuit of John Stones and Paul Pogba, as there are more chances of a torrential rainfall in Qatar in the summer than Everton and Juventus selling either in the winter respectively, and make do with the lakes you can readily and realistically get instead of searching for that elusive waterfall.
Let this beast team up with the monster that goes by the moniker Alexis Sanchez? So the Gooners can then goon themselves to death? Please no!
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