Its going to be a long summer

By: Jeremy | June 18th, 2008

After just missing out on a UEFA Cup place and refusing to play in the Intertoto Cup, Mallorca and its fans will spend the summer seeing which of the players who made last year so much fun will leave for bigger clubs. With EURO 2008 putting many moves on hold, real news is going to be slow to come. However it is still just a diversion for the reality that this club is going to lose some key players, which is expected when you have success.

The first move that we saw was the club not picking up the contract option on Jonas Guitierrez, the young Argentinian midfielder. This was a player with a lot of potential who played in 30 games for the Reds last year. He had a conflict with the club and really wanted out over the winter to go play in the Premiership. Instead he played in the Spring and once the year was over, the club did not pick up the sizeable option on his contract and it is still up in the air where he will play next year. This was a player we needed to keep, but if the cost was too high and the relationship with the club ruined, it was probably best to let him go. Either way, he is a good player we no longer have.

Now it seems that Fernando Navarro has finally signed for Sevilla and we will be losing our best defender. Navarro played 36 games for Mallorca and was so good he received a call up to Spains national team for EURO 2008. After some interest from Valencia at the last minute, it seems as if Navarro will be in Sevilla for a 5 million fee. The second key player we have lost.

Once EURO 2008 ends, things will pick up in the transfer market. The next key loss will be Guiza, who I expect to sign with Barca, and then David Navarro, who didnt play as much as we would have liked, but is still a talented and in demand defender, will likely be the next to go. With goalkeeping seeming to be a weakness for so many clubs, Moya leaving is not out of the question as he is going to emerge as an even better player over the next few years. He might be scooped up by a big club. Other players who either had a great year or are up and coming that could leave will be Ramis, Chori Castro, and Basinas. This does not even include Juan Arango who will be in demand, but like Ibagaza, could decide to stay. Other then Ibagaza, I think all of these other players are strong possibilities to be with other clubs next year.

With players leaving, money comes in and we will again have to spend it wisely. Manzano has made some good moves so hopefully he has a plan. I think the rumors of him leaving will stop and he should be back on the bench for us next year. It will also be interesting to see if wunderkid Nsue is ready for a prominent role. He has been a key player for Spanish national youth teams for what seems like forever, but if he truly is going to be a dominant player, we will need to see him show something on the big stage next year if he is given the chance.

To watch players that made a huge difference the previous year slowly leave the club is scary. Players we likely know little about will take their place and the hope is that they will emerge. However, with La Liga being so strong, you cannot lose the above mentioned players and replace them with uncertainties or question marks and not expect to have to fight to survive relegation. After getting a taste of Europe, to see such a drop back as reality is really frustrating. We have dodged relegation for so many years that letting talent leave is not going to be easy to swallow.

Hopefully once EURO ends, the players will decide what they are doing so we know what the club has for next year. The problem with being a small club is that we dont know who will be coming in early because we basically get the leftovers. Lets hope there is a new Guiza to emerge for us next year.

In the meantime, I will just keep my eyes open for news about who is going where and try to post accordingly. I hope fans are enjoying a great summer after what was a truly memorable season in Palma.