Valencia sign promising Piatti from Almería
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
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Valencia CF have signed forward Pablo Piatti from UD Almería for a fee reportedly in the region of €8m, with president Manuel Llorente calling him "a young player with a lot of promise".
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UEFA Champions League contenders Valencia CF have brought in Argentina forward Pablo Piatti from relegated UD Almería for a fee reported to be in the region of €8m.
Piatti, 22, will sign a five-year deal with Unai Emery's side subject to passing a medical at the eastern Spanish club. He will join fellow newcomers Daniel Parejo, Adil Rami and Diego Alves at Valencia, who start their UEFA Champions League campaign in the group stage after a third-place finish in the Liga last season.
A FIFA U-20 World Cup winner with Argentina four years ago, Piatti arrived at Almería from Club Estudiantes LP in 2008. He scored 19 times in 101 Liga appearances in three campaigns at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos, but could not save Almería from finishing bottom last term.
Valencia president Manuel Llorente said: "He is a young player with a lot of promise but notable experience at the highest level. He is also from the Argentinian province of Cordoba like [Valencia greats] Mario Kempes, Claudio López and Pablo Aimar. Hopefully that will be a good omen for us."