Banega swaps Valencia for Atlético

Club Atlético de Madrid have moved to strengthen their squad ahead of the UEFA Champions League group stage by bringing in defensive midfielder Éver Banega from Valencia CF on a season-long loan.

Young talent
The 20-year-old, who helped Argentina win gold at the Beijing Olympics, moved to the east coast of Spain from CA Boca Juniors last January in a deal worth €18m. During his short time with Valencia, Banega made 17 league and cup appearances, four of which came against his new club. He was part of the Argentina squad that won the 2005 FIFA Under-20 World Cup and has been capped twice at senior level, making his debut in a friendly against Mexico on 4 June. Atlético qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday after defeating FC Schalke 04 4-0 to advance 4-1 on aggregate.