It was a relatively low-key transfer deadline day for Real Betis, certainly compared to past years. The signings of Roque Santa Cruz and Dusko Tosic (the latter also on loan, incidentally) were completed well before time, as were the two or three low-key outgoings (of which more later). Spare a thought for ex-Bético right-back Miguel Lopes, though; the paperwork for his proposed move to Real Zaragoza missed the cut-off point by an hour and now he's stuck with Porto, who don't want him, till Christmas. It's a double shame as Betis are playing Zaragoza quite soon and he would have been assured of a thunderous reception.
The upshot of the summer's wheelings and dealings is that Betis have a nicely balanced squad of interesting players, cover in almost all areas, and a good mix of youth and experience. Sporting director Vlad Stosic, who's in overall charge of recruitment, has had some fierce criticism on fans' forums for taking so long to push deals through, but actually I think he's ended up doing a fine job. Don't let's forget the hand he was dealt - next to no money to spend on new players, and a list of discards that were overpaid and underperforming. When a player like Arzu - on almost €1million a year - ends up at a club like Nástic, it just proves there was not much of a market for him, and that's not Stosic's fault. Ditto Juande, Fernando Vega and even Achille Emaná, who probably didn't imagine he would end up in Saudi Arabian football.
The nine signings - (deep breath) goalkeeper Fabricio, full-backs Chica and Tosic, central defenders Mario, Amaya and Ustaritz, midfielders Matilla and Montero, plus striker Roque Santa Cruz - all have a logic to them (something not to be taken for granted at Betis), and some already look very decent players indeed. I suspect Pepe Mel would have liked another midfield destroyer to cover for Iriney, but the Betis captain never seems to get injured and Cañas could probably hold his own in that position if absolutely necessary.
Fernando Vega was the last of Pepe Mel's cast-offs to reach a pay-off agreement with the club, and he said goodbye at a genuinely touching press conference yesterday. The 27-year-old left-back, who lost his place to Nacho about 18 months ago and only made three starts last year, had been with the club for five seasons and was clearly reluctant to leave. "It's hard to say goodbye from somewhere I've wanted to be since I was little. I always dreamt of playing here. I've had good moments and bad over these five years, but I've learnt a lot and I've grown up as a player and a person," he told journalists, before being praised by Rafael Gordillo and president Miguel Guillén. As he was released before the transfer window closed, he'll be able to join a new club and is thought to be close to heading to a Championship team in England.
Another player to move away on Wednesday was Betis's only British player, Ryan Harper. Born in Scotland, he moved to Spain as a child and has been with Betis B as kind of Spanish-speaking Scottish-style burly forward for the last year or so. He probably lacked a bit of finesse to ever make it as a regular in the Betis first team, but fair play to him for leaping up a division to newly promoted Segunda club Guadalajara. I'll be keeping an eye on his progress.
Finally, just time to mention it was Jefferson Montero's 22nd birthday yesterday. I hope he didn't eat all that cake himself.
(Pic from Jonathan Pereira's Twitter feed.)
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