With star player Javi http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Martinez-c24468 gone, and 40 million Euros in their pocket, what are Athletic Bilbao’s plans for the future?
With bids coming in from Manchester City, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604, and Bayern Munich, Bayern finally got the 23-year-old Spaniard for 40 million Euros.
However, what will Athletic Bilbao do with that money? With €40 million it seems like the Basques should be able to invest in an appropriate replacement, and that too from the Basque country.
Bilbao coach, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marcelo-c23554 Bielsa, stated, “Athletic lose the contribution of a fantastic player, that is the result.”
The young Spaniard scored 22 goals in 201 match appearances for Bilbao. Along with that, he has 8 caps for the Spanish national team, and was even a member of the squad that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Bielsa also stated, “However, he virtually played no games pre-season and the team was constructed without him.” Meaning that although the Spaniard may be missed, he wasn’t of major importance, or so the coach says.
Bielsa also mentioned the importance of winning the second leg of their Europa League qualifying match with the Finnish team, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/HJK-c39532 Helsinki.
Despite winning 6-0, the coach stated, “A good performance does not improve anything, but a bad performance would worsen the situation we are in."
However, Bilbao have shown some interest in Atletico Madrid’s Raul Garcia. The Central Midfielder had an amazing season last year while on loan to Osasuna and he scored eleven goals in the process.
He’s back in training with Atletico, but it seems like the Spanish capital-based club isn’t thinking much of the player.
At the same time, his release contract is set at €25 million which, in light of recent circumstances, seems to be affordable for Bilbao.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Raul-c30652 is not the only player Bilbao is showing some interest in. After Benat’s phenomenal game-play against Bilbao, the Basques are thinking of bringing in the Betis player.
So it seems like Athletic already have their eyes set on new players. However, can they hold on for long enough? With Barcelona at the top, and Bilbao all the way down in 20th place, they have to think quick and win matches.
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