A Bosman And Two Loaners

This morning we had the news that Roberto Ayala will be on the move this summer, leaving Valencia at the end of the season. He'll be joining Villarreal on a free after los Che failed to offer Ayala what he thought he deserved. El Submarino Amarillo announced the agreement last night on their website, with the 33-year-old Argentine having signed a "pre-contract" through to 2010. There had been claims from Valencia management that they wanted to secure Ayala to a new deal, but no concrete offer was ever made.

Speaking of Villarreal, this afternoon, the president of Boca Juniors went on the record with news of Juan Roman Riquelme's return to Argentina. Villarreal have told the Spanish press that the deal hasn't been finalized as of yet and that "nothing is official for the moment". Regardless, Boca boss Mauricio Macri is running around Buenos Aires claiming that a loan deal is all but done. Supposedly, the deal would last through June, with Riquelme getting paid around $2M to play for his former team.

Another player looking for a loan move back to Argentina is defender Fabricio Coloccini. Looked over at Deportivo La Coruna, the 25-year-old is looking at his options after not getting moved in January. The frontrunner seems to be San Lorenzo, but River Plate, after finding out that he might be made available on loan, has gotten in touch with the Spanish club.

The deadline to register a player for the Clausura championship is midnight tonight. All should be known by tomorrow morning.

Ayala agrees to Villarreal switch [CNN]
Riquelme move to Boca not completed [International Herald Tribune]
Riquelme to return to Boca says boss Macri [ESPN Soccernet]
River gets into the fight for Fabricio Coloccini (in Spanish) [TyC Sports]

-ac