Valencia CF

Coventry City, Norwich City and Leicester City are all interested in signing Luton Town midfielder David Bell. The versatile midfielder spent the end of last season on loan at Leicester City.

(Sky Sports News)

Coventry are also on the verge of signing Hibernian’s French midfielder Guillaume Beuzelin on a free transfer. (Sky Sports News)

Crystal Palace are prepared to take Tottenham to a tribunal over their attempted signing of sixteen year old prodigy John Bostock. The eagles are looking for a bigger financial package for the England U-17s captain, than the White Heart Lane club are offering. (The Metro)

Manchester United are preparing a thirty million pound offer for Seville’s Brazilian duo Daniel Alves and Luis Fabiano (The Sun)

Stoke City are to offer recently released Aston Villa midfielder Patrick Berger a twelve month contract to stay in the premier league instead of moving back to his native Czech Republic. (The Mirror)

Steve Bruce is chasing nineteen year old Greek defender Sokratis Papastathopoulosfrom AEK Athens for Wigan Athletic (The Mirror)

Derby County will ask for either Jon Stead or Rob Hulse as part of any deal involving taking Robert Earnshaw to Bramall Lane (The Sheffield Star)

Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has finally lost the plot and put the entire City squad up for sale. (The Guardian)

AC Milan have released BothCafu andSerginhofor the summer and both are free to move on Bosmans (Sky Sports News)

Valencia have agreed to rescind the rest of Jose Santiago Canizares’contract at the Mestalla meaning he is another high profile free agent (Sky Sports News)

If Gary O’Neilleaves Middlesbrough, then boss Gareth Southgate will turn to Newcastle winger James Milner, with a five million pound offer. (The Sun)

Sevilla and Galatasaray have been put on alert with the news that Michael Landrupwill quit Getafe this Summer (The Mirror)

Manchester City could have to start their UEFA Cup campaign at Hudderfield’s Galpharm arena after a Bon Jovi concert interrupted plans for the pitch at the City of Manchester Stadium to be relayed. (The Guardian)

Marseille coach Eric Gerets admits that both Samir Nasri and Djibril Cisse could both leave if the club receive favourable offers for the pair. (BBC Sport)

Former Middlesbrough striker Lee Dong Gook has offers from five different Japanese clubs, all vying for his services  after he was released from the Riverside (Press Association)

Tottenham Hotspurs may be forced to sell Dimitar Berbartov to balance the books after Darren Bent’s lack of impact on the team and his crippling wages (The Times)

Bolton have released Andranik Teymourian, Ivan Campo and Stelios Giannakopoulos, but the whites hope that Ricardo Gardner and Jussi Jaaskelainen will sign new deals. (Sky Sports News)

Tottenham could face competition from AS Roma in the race to sign Bolivia Striker Marcelo Moreno.

Lee Carsleycould leave Everton and rejoin Birmingham City on a two year deal (The Sun)

Motherwell Striker Ross Mccormackhas put English clubs Wigan and Middlesborough on alert after admitting that he wants to move to England. (Daily Express)

AC Milan will turn there attention to Celtic’s Polish International keep Artur Boruc with a ten million pound bid. (Daily Record)

Rangers want to swap Northern Island International Steven Davis for Gabon International Daniel Cousinwith Fulham. (Daily Mail)

Derby County Striker Kenny Miller is on the verge of a return to Rangers. (Scottish Sun)

The Daily telegraph say that Samuel Eto’o no longer wants to leave Barcelona but the Sun say that AC Milan still snatch Eto’o from under Spurs’ noses.

Sunderland have joined the race for Manchester City captain Richard Dunne. (Daily Mirror)

Arsenal will join Aston Villa in the race for Werder Bremen playmaker Diego if Alexsander Hleb leaves. (Daily Mail)

Preston North end are interested in Gretna keeper Greg Fleming (Daily Record)

Valencia lifted the Copa del Rey with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Getafe at the Vicente Calderon.

Valencia were off to a flying start when they drew first blood thanks to Juan Manuel Mata who fired them in front after just four minutes on the clock.

Seven minutes later, defender Alexis doubled the lead to put Valencia in the driver's seat. To add insult to injury, Alexis had moved to Valencia from Getafe last summer.

After the two early body blows, Getafe gradually regained their composure and started to assert themselves. Esteban Granero's penalty just before half time gave Getafe a hope of a comeback.

Spanish international striker David Villa had two good opportunities within the first 10 minutes after the break, the latter requiring a good reflex save from Getafe keeper Oscar Ustari.

Granero then hit the cross bar from 20 yards out just after the hour to show that Getafe hadn't thrown in the towel.

Valencia keeper Timo Hildebrand then pulled off a magnificent save to keep out Braulio Nobrega's header 10 minutes from the whistle before second half substitute Fernando Morientes found the net six minutes from time. It was a sweet moment for Morientes who finally filled the one missing space in his trophy cabinet.

Further adding to Getafe's problems was the sending off of Fabio Celestini for a late tackle on David Silva in the closing stages.

Player Ratings

VALENCIA 

Hildebrand 7 - Did not have much to do through the game, but when one golden chance looked goalbound he was on his game to make a strong save.

Miguel 7 - A solid performance at right back prevented Granero from producing his full range of tricks and crosses.

Alexis 9 - The entire Valencia defence was strong and he will be particularly pleased to have capped a strong display with a fine goal against his former club.

Albiol 7.5 - Did well until limping out of the action midway through the second period in the game against the team where he spent a year on loan.

Moretti 7 - Arguably not his best game, but he put himself about and looked to move forward when he could.

Marchena 8.5 - If you are a Valencia fan he is a leader and inspires the side and that is what he did today as he was involved in everything.

Baraja 8.5 - Another strong performance in the centre of a Valencia midfield that looked to shut down Getafe and caused them real problems early on.

David Silva 7.5 - Became the target of some hefty challenges and that was a tribute to the worry he caused. Set up the first goal with a great cross, but left his finishing boots at home.

Mata 7 - Was asked to perform a fair amount of defensive duties and that prevented him from displaying his abilities going forward.

Arizmendi 7 - Often took the ball down the left flank and held up the play in order to take the pressure off his defence. A strong display indeed.

David Villa 6 - Did not have his best game either as he wasted two good chances, one of which he really should have put on target when clean through.

Subs

Caneira 7 - Slotted in seamlessly to the side which is testament to how well he played.

Edu 7 - Also did not put a foot wrong when coming into the side and will particularly enjoy the win after spending so long out with injuries.

Morientes 8 - Was given one task and carried it out superbly as Valencia needed a goal to finish the game off and his brave header did that.

GETAFE

Ustari 5 - Did make one fine save from Villa to deny Valencia, but just like against Bayern, a goalkeeping error and a poor clearance took the wind out of Getafe's sails.

Cortés 6 - Was unable to go forward as much as he is accustomed to but did a good job keeping Mata quiet down the flank.

Cata Diaz 7 - He was not at fault for any of the goals and put in a reasonably solid display individually, even though Getafe failed defensively as a unit.

Tena 5.5 - The flashes of strength and prowess were undone when he lost Alexis for the second goal. Also gave away possession more than once.

Licht 6.5 - Was also not at his best as he showed signs of nerves and later frustration, but that may have been down to fatigue too.

Contra 7 - Went on one purposeful run and won Getafe a penalty and a way back into the game, before going off.

Casquero 6.5 - Was replaced with what must have been an injury. He had been unable to move freely as Valencia's pressure penned him in.

De la Red 5 - Made mistakes defensively, and bottled it up front on a couple of occasions. The talented midfielder had a game he will want to forget in a real hurry.

Granero 8 - His running caused Valencia problems and his shot against the bar probably deserved more than a goal-kick.

Albín 6.5 - Neither of the Getafe strikers excelled as they were marked out of the game, but Albín was marginally better than Del Moral.

Del Moral 5.5 - If had stayed on his feet on the occasions he looked for a penalty with some poor dives he may have done more.

Subs

Pablo 6 - Came on and was unable to change Getafe's fortunes down the right flank.

Celestini 4 - May have been surprised to have earned a ref card, but the tackle on Silva was hard and from behind and was needless.

Braulio 7 - Could have made things so different had his powerful header not been tipped superbly wide by Hildebrand.

The win eases the pressure on Valencia coach Ronald Koeman following a disappointing Liga campaign by securing the team a place in Europe next season. 

Valencia CF supporters are hoping that the new year will bring the club better fortunes.

Currently stuck in seventh place and out of European competition altogether, manager Ronald Koeman will have a lot to prove to their fans and the chairman.

In making perhaps the biggest decision of his career, manager Ronald Koeman doesn't exactly have the greatest degree of support at Estadio Mestalla.

After declaring that he was losing control of the team, Koeman went to extreme measures to stamp his authority.

Three key players—Santiago Canizares, David Albelda, and Miguel Angel Angulo—were all told to look for different clubs, as they would no longer be featured in Koeman's plans. Claiming that the trio had become detrimental to the club, the Dutch manager has been looking for ways to off-load them as early as the January transfer window.

Santiago Canizares has publicly stated that he would consider retiring if Koeman stands by his decision to leave the talented veteran goalkeeper out for the rest of his campaign. Spanish giants Barcelona are rumored to be interested in the world-class player.

On the other hand, David Albelda has taken legal action against the club in order to terminate his contract at Valencia. Albelda announced his frustration with the current management at a recent press conference, stating that he deserved better than humiliation.

Having trouble reaching an amicable separation with the club, Albelda and his lawyers will need to find a way to overcome his 60 million-euro release clause.

Otherwise, the gifted defensive midfielder could find himself stuck in a non-playing role for the foreseeable future.

Real Madrid, Everton and Liverpool are all rumored to be interested in Albelda's services.

Miguel Angel Angulo has also encountered difficulty in finding his way out of the club. Like the other two veterans, Angulo vented his frustration with the Koeman Revolution, telling the press that Valencia's veterans were being treated with little to no respect. Having arrived from Villareal back in 1997, Angulo has served the club for over a decade.

Koeman's actions have naturally brought about great controversy and disarray to the storied club. Fans and media are continuing to speculate and question the motives behind the move. While it was a brave decision by Koeman, one has to wonder whether the club really has benefited by losing three talented individuals.

After all, these three players have been at the club for the majority of their careers. Angulo (282), Canizares (299) and Albelda (213) have each made over 200 appearances for the club during their time at Valencia. Known for their tremendous leadership skills during their time at the club, the loss of the veterans will be a test of the character within the Valencia dressing room.

That's not to mention the speculated departure of unsettled Portuguese midfielder Manuel Fernandes.

Having trouble adjusting to life in Spain, Fernandes has been linked with a possible move back to Everton or Portsmouth.

But after watching him bolt from Everton in the summer transfer window, Toffeeheads may be split on bringing back the Portuguese playmaker.

The rebuilding process could start with the imminent arrival of Boca Juniors Argentinine wonderkid Ever Banega. Keen to be joining Koeman's setup, Banega will be counted on to replace the absent Albelda and provide solid performance in the defensive midfield position.

Given the situation he's created, Koeman will need to turn things around in a hurry.

His job depends on it.