Athletic continue B-team clear-out as Iker Varela joins Ibiza | OneFootball

Athletic are reshaping their B-team, with Iker Varela sold to Ibiza in Primera Federación. The club said in a statement that the fee is undisclosed and includes performance-related variables, a sell-on, right of first refusal and a buy-back option.

Varela was on loan at Mirandés last season. The 23-year-old made 67 appearances for Bilbao Athletic, scoring 13, the same total he hit in a single season with CD Basconia. He advanced through all Lezama age groups after joining from Danok Bat.

He is the latest departure this summer. Ibon Sánchez was the first to be transferred on similar terms, having played 99 games for the B team with 11 goals. The Getxo native made his first-team debut this year in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund and arrived at Lezama as a cadet from Romo.

A few days later, Aimar Duñabeitia also left for Sporting on a permanent deal. The 23-year-old centre-back made 71 appearances and scored five. He did not feature competitively for the first team, but did play friendlies against Liverpool and Osasuna after joining Lezama from SD Gernika at youth level.

Ibaigane have likewise sanctioned two loans to Córdoba, newly promoted to Segunda División. First came forward Ibai Sanz, a regular in the past two seasons and the side’s top scorer across them with 20 goals. He renewed earlier this year, extending his Athletic deal to 2029.

Eder García has also joined the green-and-white club on loan. He debuted for the first team last season after arriving from Real Sociedad’s reserve side, with Valverde using him against Elche and Barça. For the B team he made 34 appearances and scored four.

Source: El Correo