Real Madrid midfielder Sergio Canales has quashed speculation that he could make the switch from Spain to England on a loan deal after stating that if he is not played at the Bernabeu next season he will look to stay in La Liga. In other news new Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas failed to rule out the prospect of sending Daniel Sturridge out on loan again next year, with Villa rumoured to be interested.
Canales, 20, only signed for Real Madrid from Racing Santander last summer for a fee in excess of £5m but this was done so before the arrival of Jose Mourinho. The young Spaniard made just 10 league appearances last season, of which only 3 were starts, and looks likely to be moved elsewhere in order to gain regular first team action with the ‘Special One’ yet to have been convinced.
In those limited appearances, Canales did conjure one assist and showed an impressive range and success rate in his passing, nothing an accuracy of 85%. However, to understand his considerable talents you have to look back to his record prior to joining Madrid with Santander, the team not the bank. At just 19 he netted 6 goals from midfield in just 19 starts, assisting a further 4 and leading to the likes of Madrid sniffing around the teenager. Everton and QPR have also been credited with an interest though it seems a Premier League move may well be off the table.
In more encouraging news, Chelsea boss Villas-Boas has admitted that he is unsure as to whether he will be sending England Under-21 striker Daniel Sturridge out on loan again next season, confirming his liking for the youngster. Villa have long been tipped as potential suitors for the 21-year-old, even prior to his free transfer to Chelsea.
The front man had a highly successful loan spell at Bolton last term and has in turn drawn interest from across the league, with Bolton thought to be strongly favoured for a return. However, Sturridge is believed to be an Aston Villa fan and may well like the idea of joining a club that has nurtured English talent so successfully over the last few seasons.
In just 11 starts under Owen Coyle in the second half of last season, Sturridge scored 8 times scoring an impressive 73% pass success rate for a striker. His 3.6 shots per game was a team high and indicative of his confidence in front of goal and he also made an impressive average of 1.3 key passes per game and 1.8 successful dribbles per game, another team high.
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