Barcelona and Real Madrid have been linked with Valencia midfield sensation Javi Guerra for more than a year but according to a report in TBR, the midfielder might be heading to the English Premier League.
A January move to the EPL is very much on the cards because Tottenham, Arsenal and also Liverpool are all interested in the 21-year-old. All three sides will be looking to reinforce their midfield at the start of the new year and Javi Guerra ranks high on these three clubs’, for more reasons than one.
Who is Javi Guerra and why has he caught the attention of so many major clubs?
Guerra has come up through the ranks at Valencia and he made his senior debut in 2021. He is currently protected with a massive €100 million release clause, but if the rumours are to be believed then the Spanish side will allow him to leave for a transfer fee of around €30 million. And this is one of the major reasons why clubs like Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool are so interested in signing him in January.
Last season, he played in 36 LaLiga games for Valencia and had an xG and xA of 2.66 and 1.93 respectively. Guerra is primarily a central midfielder but he can also play a bit further up the pitch as a creative option.
During the 2023/24 season, he had scored 4 league goals but he is yet to get off the mark this time despite making 10 LaLiga appearances.
Javi Guerra is a very good passer of the ball and he’s also a proper counter-attacking threat. He might not have scored any goals this season but defensively, he’s made 1.3 tackles and 1.2 clearances per game.
Overall, despite being a wonderful talent, the 21-year-old might not be a regular starter for a team like Arsenal or Liverpool but he will be a very good backup option to have.
Spending €30-32 million during the January window will not be a problem for either of the three Premier League giants and if he can turn himself into an impact sub then the 21-year-old will be money well spent by Liverpool or Arsenal.
At Spurs, however, Guerra can turn himself into a regular starter under Ange because Tottenham are in ragged form and a slight reshuffle in January is very much on the cards. The Lilywhites have already lost five out of their first 11 league matches and the pressure is building on the manager to come up with a consistent starting lineup.
It’s clear that Javi Guerra isn’t joining Barcelona or Real Madrid anytime soon and even though he still has three more years left on his current deal, Valencia won’t want to lose out on €30 million during the middle of the season.
Arsenal are perhaps in the most urgent need of a new central midfielder because Mikel Arteta is working with a very small squad and someone like Guerra can come in to solve a lot of the problems.
