Atletico Madrid sign Valencia midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia under special La Liga transfer rules

The transfer window might officially be closed around the world, but there are always exceptions to the rule in La Liga. And a big piece of transfer news that will delight the supporters of Atletico Madrid, is that Valencia’s dynamic midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia is joining the club on a permanent deal.

As the very reliable Fabrizio Romano reports, the transfer fee for the player is expected to be an upfront amount of €11 million, with add-ons and a 10% receivable on any future sale component.

This represents a very good deal from Atletico’s perspective, who might have found a replacement to the recently departed Thomas Partey, who went to Arsenal.

From that perspective, this deal is actually taking place because of Partey in a way. La Liga’s special rules suggest exceptional circumstances where if a player’s release clause is met on the final couple days of a transfer window, it gives that team an allowance to sign replacements from within the league, Segunda Division or who are unattached to any contracts.

Since Thomas Partey did leave on the final day of the summer transfer window which saw Arsenal deposit the full amount of his release clause with La Liga, it did not allow enough time for Atletico Madrid to sign another midfielder. And considering Partey left behind a vacant spot in the squad, Kondogbia naturally takes that up and retains the original 25-man-squad requirements.

Meanwhile, this is the fifth first-team player to leave from Valencia in the 2020/21 season, after the club announced they were having debt problems and are embroiled in a financial crisis of sorts. In a bid to raise funds and achieve stability, the African midfielder’s move is merely a facilitation towards that objective.

Kondogbia would be a very good signing for the Rojiblancos, considering his versatility and physical strength. Making 27 appearances for Valencia last season, he had a successful pass rate of 85% and committed 2.3 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game. His personality will suit Diego Simeone’s style of play, in what will be a robust transfer to boost Atletico’s midfield depth.

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