Middlesbrough’s busy summer recruitment drive continued apace this week with the signing of Valencia’s Alvaro Negredo on a season-long loan.
The 30-year-old forward arrives at the newly-promoted side with a view to a permanent move and affords their frontline some crucial top-flight experience, having previously played in the Premier League for Man City.
Speaking to the club’s official website about ‘Boro’s latest addition, manager Aitor Karanka believes the move to Teeside could see the Spanish international regain his best form after a disappointing couple of seasons back in his homeland:
“I’m delighted because he is a really good player and if he recovers his best he will be a really important player for us. Another reason I wanted to sign him is because he has played in this country and he knows the league. I’m pleased and he’s pleased because he wants to play his best and he knows that England and this club is the best place to recover his self.”
The History
Born in Madrid, Spain, Negredo started out at Escuela Futbol A.F.E before linking up with Rayo Vallecano at the age of 16. He made his debut for Rayo Vallecano B in 2003, proceeding to score 28 goals in 40 matches, and also netted once in 12 outings for the first-team in 2004/05 before moving to Real Madrid Castilla.
Negredo scored 22 goals in 65 matches for Real’s second string, but never played in a competitive match for Los Blancos. In July 2007, the striker was sold to La Liga side Almeria, and enjoyed two hugely successful seasons with the club, scoring 31 goals and registering nine assists in 71 appearances in all competitions.
Those performances earned Negredo a move to Sevilla in the summer of 2009 for a reported fee of €15 million. Over the next four seasons, Negredo established himself as one of the leading strikers in La Liga, scoring 85 goals and bagging 27 assists in 180 matches.
Man City came calling ahead of the 2013/14 campaign, parting with £16.4 million plus add-ons to secure the Spanish front man, but his one season with the Citizens saw him register just nine goals and five assists in 32 Premier League outings.
After failing to settle in Manchester, Negredo was initially sent out on loan to Valencia in 2014/15, producing five goals and as many assists in 30 league matches, before making the move permanent last summer. In a disappointing campaign for Los Ches, he mustered five goals and two assists in 25 league appearances.
Negredo only played once for the Spanish Under 21s, before making his senior debut against Armenia in October 2009. He has a pretty impressive strike rate at international level, having scored 10 goals in 21 appearances, but hasn’t represented his country since November 2013.
The Prospects
With Karanka a big fan of the 4-2-3-1 formation, it’s likely that Negredo will be battling with Jordan Rhodes for the lone striker role. Given the Spaniard’s goal scoring record over the course of his career, and – as touched upon by Karanka – his experience of playing top-level football, it’s expected he’ll move above the former Blackburn striker in the pecking order.
Karanka has shown a liking for rotation across the front four positions, although only three of Rhodes’ 18 league appearances last term were off the bench. Nonetheless, the arrival of Negredo will almost certainly see the Scotland international fall out of contention as a genuine Fantasy option – unlike Negredo, he has never played top-flight football in any country so far.
The supply line to the former Sevilla striker should feature fellow summer arrivals Viktor Fischer and Gaston Ramirez, while the likes of Stewart Downing and Albert Adomah should also be able to create chances for Negredo, whose main attributes include his calmness in front of goal, aerial ability and a good awareness of team-mates.
‘Boro did only score 63 goals in the Championship last term, though, ranking them eighth in the division, so Karanka will be hoping Fischer and Negredo can help provide a much greater cutting edge given his side will be facing much tougher opposition this time around.
There is also the possibility of Negredo taking over penalty taking duties during the first few weeks of the season as first-choice option Grant Leadbitter recovers from a hernia problem, further boosting his appeal.
‘Boro’s new striker is likely to come in at between 6.0 and 6.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), putting him in line with the likes of Burnley’s Andre Gray (6.5) and Hull’s Adel Hernandez (6.0) from the other newly promoted teams.
Certainly, Karanka’s men have the most friendly fixtures (STO, sun, wba, CPL, eve) of the three Premier League new boys over the opening five Gameweeks, perhaps pushing Negredo towards the front of the queue as a budget option for our three-man forward lines.
Although the former Valencia forward arrives on Teeside with a big reputation, his performances have been waning over the past few years, while he has missed the start of ‘Boro’s pre-season preparations, perhaps putting him slightly behind schedule in terms of his fitness levels.
Ultimately, then, it may only take a goal or two from the Spaniard during Boro’s final few pre-season matches to convince many FPL bosses to take the plunge in their initial 15-man squads. There are few stand-out options among the forwards priced 6.5 and under right now, so backing a proven scorer such as Negredo could prove hard to resist if he finds his form ahead of the Gameweek 1 deadline.
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