Madrid (Spain), June 17 (IANS) La Liga outfit Real Betis have announced the signing of goalkeeper Alvaro Valles from Las Palmas with a five-year contract. The 27-year-old, who began his career in the Betis youth system, returns on a free transfer after spending last season in the stands after rejecting a new contract with the recently relegated outfit, for whom he made 132 league appearances.

He has agreed a deal until the end of June 2030 and will strengthen Betis’ squad as the club prepares to play in the Europa League next season after finishing sixth in La Liga and reaching the Conference League final last season, reports Xinhua.

Ligue I side Olympique de Marseille was also reported to be interested in the goalkeeper, who rejected a better offer to return to Betis.

Valles isn’t the only player to leave Las Palmas, with winger Alberto Moleiro confirmed as a new signing for Villarreal.

Moleiro has signed until June 2030 with the team that ended last season fifth in La Liga, and his arrival at the club from the east coast of Spain could open the door for Villarreal to sell Spain international Alex Baena to Atletico Madrid this summer, with Atletico willing to pay around 50 million euros for the forward.

Meanwhile, Athletic Club winger Nico Williams finds himself at the centre of a transfer saga once again much like last summer, with FC Barcelona among the clubs interested.

While teams like Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and Chelsea have all taken an interest in the 22-year-old, Barça have seemingly jumped ahead in the race after a meeting took place between the winger’s agent and Deco.

Now, according to MARCA, some voices within Athletic Club are starting to question whether Nico is capable of committing to the team in the same way as his brother Inaki did in 2019 when he signed a new contract until 2028 with a release clause of €135 million.

Nico is under contract until 2027 and, for the past three summers, has consistently attracted transfer interest. He has turned down offers but never fully closed the door.

–IANS

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