Villarreal Eye Double Argentine Swoop

Villarreal have strong ties across South America, having brought a number of players from the region to Spain in recent years and on his most recent visit to Argentina, Llaneza has marked out Diego Valeri of Lanus and Cristian Villagra of River Plate as transfer targets for the summer.

Valeri, 21, is a classy midfield player who was part of the Lanus side that took the 2007 Apertura title, and has impressed in their Copa Libertadores games since the turn of the year, especially in the match that Llaneza watched against Danubio in Uruguay.

He is capable of playing as a central playmaker or on the flanks, where Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini could well see him as an ideal compliment - and eventual successor - to Robert Pires.

Various European clubs have been linked with a move for Valeri, and reports in the Italian press suggested that Inter Milan had a €7million bid for the player turned down in December. If Villarreal do look to strike a deal, then there is likely to be a long line of clubs ready to enter the bidding.

A slighter easier target for the Yellow Submarine looks to be River Plate left-back Cristian Villagra, 22, whom Llaneza sees as an ideal back-up for Joan Capdevila - something that is currently lacking in the squad.

Villagra was one of three players, along with Marco Ruben and Juan Ojeda, that River bought from Rosario Central in January 2007, and with Ruben having already made the move to Villarreal - now on loan at Recreativo - Villagra could again be set to follow in his footsteps if Llaneza gets his way in the summer.


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