OLÉ! RODRIGUEZ’S HOME
Former Real striker completes loan move from PSG to Las Palmas to beat deadline
PARIS Saint-Germain forward Jese Rodriguez, pictured, passed a medical at Las Palmas yesterday to complete his loan move until the end of the season.
The former Real Madrid striker’s switch to his hometown club is likely to be the biggest move on transfer deadline day in Spain.
Jese had his medical at Perpetuo Socorro Hospital and will later be presented to supporters in the Estadio Gran Canaria.
The player will wear the No 10 shirt for the club who boosted their chances of making a European place this season with a 3-1 win over Valencia on Monday.
Las Palmas are hopeful the stadium will fill to greet the arrival of a player supporters were desperate to sign.
“He comes to us losing a lot of money but he has preferred to have things this way so he can play for us,” club president Miguel Ramirez said on Monday.
“We are now at the limit of our budget. Our objective was to bring Jese and it has been possible.”
Ramirez’s comments have been interpreted as revealing that Jese has accepted a drop in wages for the next four months to play in Spain.
Las Palmas appeared out of the race when Middlesbrough agreed terms with PSG last week but the player’s preference has won out.
The Spanish club were struggling to meet the wages of the 23-year-old who signed for PSG last August for €25-million (about R363,25-million) but it seems he has made sacrifices to make the deal go through.
Elsewhere, it has been a quiet deadline day in Spain.
Barcelona have agreed to sign 18-year-old Uruguayan centre-back Santiago Bueno, according to his agent.
The under-20 international is seen as the new Diego Godin in his homeland where he has already debuted for Penarol.
Pablo Boselli told Uruguayan radio Sport 890: “The negotiation is closed.
“All the documents have been signed so there are just a few minor details to sort out.”
Bueno is currently with the Uruguayan U-20 team in the South American championships in Ecuador but will go to Barcelona to sign as soon as the tournament ends.
Meanwhile, former Real Madrid youngster José Rodriguez joins Spanish first division side Malaga on loan until the end of the season from Mainz.
The 22-year-old midfielder played four games for Madrid under José Mourinho and made his Champions League debut for him against Ajax before-joining Galatasaray in 2015.
Sevilla have completed the signing of Walter Montoya from Rosario Central. The 23-yearold will stay with his Argentine club for the rest of the season unless Sevilla can free-up one of their three non-EU playing spots.
Bayer Leverkusen have signed 19-year-old Jamaican winger Leon Bailey from Belgium’s Racing Genk on a contract to 2022, the German club said yesterday.
Bailey, who played for Genk in the Europa League and scored four goals in six matches, is also eligible for the Champions League, the German club said.
Leverkusen are through to the round of 16 in Europe’s top club competition and face Spain’s Atletico Madrid next month.
“He is an unusually quick and very cunning player, who gives our attack an added push,” Leverkusen sports director Rudi Voeller said in a statement.
“We are certain he will prove to be a huge win for us.”
Bailey, who joined Genk in 2015 and has played once for Jamaica’s under-23 team, was reportedly a target for several top European clubs before being signing by Leverkusen.