The Apertura 2019 is not over yet some fans are already handing the Clausura 2020 trophy to Guadalajara thanks to their splashy moves.
The Liga MX winter transfer window is already open, the new season begins in less than four weeks and there are likely plenty of surprises to come. So we’ll track the changes, and provide some insight and occasionally, some in-depth analysis, in a Transfer Tracker column.
The Chivas have garnered most of the headlines with their frantic wheeling and dealing – eight new players for the Clausura 2020 already – but let’s take a quick look at some of the benefits for the other Liga MX teams involved in those deals.
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Chivas general manager Ricardo Peláez has been flashing cash, but he also packaged players in one of the deals so as not to spend too much of owner Amaury Vergara’s money, and also to make room on the roster for the new faces.
We’ll start with the players on the move.
On Sunday, Santos Laguna formally announced the arrival of defender José Carlos van Rankin and midfielder Alan Cervantes. The two new Guerreros were part of the deal that sent midfielder José Juan Vázquez to Guadalajara.
Van Rankin, 26, is a Pumas product who mostly plays at right fullback but could serve as a central defender with some training, or maybe a holding midfielder. He was sent to Guadalajara on a one-year loan deal in summer 2018 and the Chivas acquired his rights on May 3, 2019, but he did not impress. The Mexico City native fell out of favor this past season and would have fallen well down the depth chart in the upcoming Clausura. With his new team, he will start in a back-up role, taking the spot held by former Santos captain José Abella who was traded to Atlas last week.
Cervantes, 21, is a Chivas academy product who spent 6 months on loan with León as a 19-year-old and returned to Guadalajara for the Clausura 2018. A reliable midfielder, Cervantes fell behind veteran Jesús Molina and youngster Fernando Beltrán this past season and was made expendable by the acquisition of “El Gallito” Vázquez. He will spell MVP candidate Fernando Gorriarán and Ulises Rivas at first, but if he learns Guillermo Almada’s system he could become a contributor. Let’s keep in mind that he is only 21.
Other players on Guadalajara’s transfer list are midfielders Michael Pérez and Dieter Villalpando, winger Walter Gael Sandoval and goalie Raúl Gudiño.