Ignacio Camacho: West Brom transfer ‘still fresh’
On August 29th, as the transfer window was beginning to close, Malaga owner Sheikh Al-Thani confirmed Igancio Camacho had asked to leave.
It was a blow, 26 year old Camacho has been with Malaga since 2011 and become an important player. The proposed destination was West Brom, and a big pay rise would be on offer in England.
A transfer looked nailed on. An owner surely can’t say, publicly via Twitter, his player wants to leave and then the fans accept him if he remains?
There’s a way back from everything in football and Camacho’s move broke down because West Brom were trying to knock a few million off. With Camacho having a release clause of €18m, Malaga assumed West Brom would pay that, it represented very good value.
Instead, West Brom offered €15m plus €3m in bonus payments, and Malaga simply said no. With little time to find a replacement, and little chance of doing so with the money on offer, it wasn’t in their interest.
Camacho was pulled back into the fold. There was going to be a quick new contract, and the 26 year old would forget his England dream.
It was a great idea. Camacho would get a well deserved pay rise and forget all about West Brom, and Malaga would keep their star.
But then the reality of money came into the equation, and Malaga have been delaying things because they haven’t got the financial wriggle room to give Camacho a huge deal. Or at least a huge by Malaga standards.
Spanish newspaper Marca say the West Brom idea is ‘still fresh’ in the memory for both Camacho and Malaga. There’s a ‘tense calm’ between the player and his current club.
Malaga are currently 11th in La Liga, it’s unlikely they’ll be seriously fighting at either end of the table this season.
Should that remain the same in January, and Tony Pulis pushes West Brom to get their act together and pay the €18m, then Camacho may once again tell Al Thani he wants out.
