With European football kicking into action in Spain this weekend, all eyes will be on the battle between Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to see who can lay claim to the title.
Unable to compete with the Premier League, many Spanish clubs in the top flight have to look for loan deals and cheaper options in an effort to strengthen, rebuild or stabilise their squads. Still, a number of great deals have been done, so here are some of the most interesting signings to pay attention to this season in Spain.
Nico Gaitan – Benfica to Atletico Madrid - €15.5 million
Atletico Madrid's La Liga title win in 2013-14 felt as far away as ever when Juanfran missed the final penalty in the Champions League final last season to hand Real Madrid the trophy once again. Losing Diego Costa at the end of that season has proven to be a large part of the reason Diego Simeone failed capture silverware in the last two seasons. That looks like it could change this year though.
He has rebuilt his attack yet again this summer, and along with the arrival of Kevin Gameiro, comes Nico Gaitan. The Argentine is seen as the final piece of the puzzle for Simeone, who has lacked a creative, versatile, speedy winger to contribute goals and assists in equal measure, and a player who can both accentuate the excellence of Antoine Griezmann while also taking some of the pressure of the team's talisman.
This signing will be hugely significant if Atletico are to repeat the feat of three seasons ago and finally get their hands on the Champions League trophy.
Franco Vazquez – Palermo to Sevilla - €15 million
Jorge Sampaoli has brought about massive changes to Sevilla since arriving in the summer. Along with retaining the side's MVP in Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo (better known as Monchi) despite having his head turned by other clubs, they have signed as many as nine players but none as expensive, or possibly important, as Franco Vazquez. The Italian gives Sampaoli plenty of physicality in the attacking third, along with energy and a willingness to contribute in attack.
The 27-year-old has played an important role in Sevilla's three early games in Europe and Spain's Super Cup, scoring an excellent goal against Madrid in the first of those ties. All eyes will be on Sampaoli and how he replaces Unai Emery, meaning Vazquez will be key to whether or not the Chilean is seen as a success in his first role in Spain.
Denis Cheryshev – Real Madrid to Villarreal - €8 million
It's been a strange year for Cheryshev, after he was blamed for getting Real Madrid kicked out of the Copa del Rey when he played despite the fact that he was suspended from a previous Copa game with Villarreal. He has been loaned out to no less than three clubs despite being on Real's books for the last number of years, and never really got the chance to impress at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Villarreal have suffered a tumultuous preseason with the firing of manager Marcelino and losing seven key players from last season's squad. One of the key players was Denis Suarez, who returned to Barcelona during the offseason, and Cheryshev will be tasked with replacing the excellent young Spaniard.
The club rebuilt almost their entire forward and attacking midfield lines and Cheryshev, along with Alexandro Pato and Nicola Sansone, will need to build on their success last season, seeking a top four finish yet again.
Luis Nani – Fenerbahce to Valencia - €8.5 million
Another club who have had a somewhat disastrous summer, Valencia look to former Manchester United winger Nani after a spell in Turkey with Fenerbahce. The 29-year-old proved that he can still do it as he played a vital role for Portugal at Euro 2016, and he will be asked to do much of the same for an under-achieving Valencia side.
He is their only big summer signing following the loss of Andre Gomes to Barcelona, along with a close call that almost saw Paco Alcacer headed in the same direction, not to mention Arsenal's continuing flirtation with Shokdran Mustafi.
Valencia need to regain their top six status in the league and Nani might be key to making that happen.
Pione Sisto – Midtyjylland to Celta Vigo – undisclosed
A glorious team to watch, Celta Vigo have replaced Nolito with one of the most promising and exciting you players in Europe. The Danish winger is similar in ways to Sadio Mane, and comes highly recommended from FC Midtjylland.
This is a really interesting signing given Sisto's potential, the state of the transfer market and the fact that he only (apparently) cost €6 million, which isn't enough to buy a professional footballer's socks these days.
The 21-year-old will team up with the dynamic Fabian Orellana and Iago Aspas as they take their attacking and exciting style to opponents next season.
Marlos Moreno – Manchester City to Deportivo La Coruna – Loan
Pep Guardiola does not come knocking on your door unless he sees exceptional, undeniable qualities in your game, and there is a sense that Depor have landed themselves a player who could turn them from relegation contenders into a top half team in Moreno.
Lucas Perez is the star of this team, but the onus fell on the 27-year-old too often last season and when his hot streak turned cold, so did Depor. Adding a player like Marlos Moreno along with Romanian Floran Andone, who holds the ball up well and gets wide players involved, could mean Depor are more multi-functional in attack and less reliant on the excellent Perez.
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