Valencia set sale stance

10 June 2009 11:21
Valencia have decided that David Silva is not for sale and that David Villa will only leave if they receive an offer close to €50 million (£43m), which Chelsea are rumoured to be set to pay. Los Che are not prepared to accept Real Madrid's take it or leave it demand of €35m (£30m), despite the capital club's reluctance to pay any more because they could activate Atletico Madrid frontman Diego Forlan's buy-out clause for €1m more. Instead, Valencia have been advised that Chelsea will go as high as €48m (£41m) to land Villa and that is now the benchmark for clubs that have an interest in signing him. Despite their financial problems, the new Mestalla board are determined not to be taken advantage of and president Manuel Llorente and vice-president Javier Gomez know what the players are worth. AS state Gomez has been told of Chelsea's intentions and that has meant that Real Madrid have been unable to push through a deal this week as was first reported in the Spanish media. If Los Merengues want Villa now, it appears that they will have to offer more than €35m as Valencia would accept that amount plus striker Alvaro Negredo. While the Villa saga rumbles on, Silva has been taken out of the shop window as his father, who is also his agent, Fernando Silva, was told that he would not be sold unless an incredible offer was made. According to AS, the only way Silva could go is if the club receive, for example, a bid of €30m for Villa and €50m for Silva, then they would keep Villa instead. It does, however, appear that a summer auction for Villa could be about to begin, with Real Madrid director Jorge Valdano admitting that his side are prepared to battle it out with their rivals for the Spain international. "I have no idea (whether Chelsea have made a bid), but Chelsea are a great team and the fact they are keen on great players is natural," Valdano told El Comercio Digital. "For every player we are fighting for, there are teams that have already tried (to sign them) and other ones have asked for the player's price. "We are not the only ones in the market and other teams share the same interest."

Source: SKY_Sports