West Brom sealed £4.7m move for ex-Real Madrid star - it fell seriously flat | OneFootball

West Brom signed former Real Madrid midfielder Borja Valero in 2008

Under the guidance of Tony Mowbray, West Bromwich Albion clinched the EFL Championship title in the 2007/08 season, claiming their place in the Premier League for the following season alongside both Stoke City and play-off winners Hull City.

Following this, the Baggies sought to cement their status as a top-flight club once more, bringing in the likes of Jonas Olsson, Scott Carson, Graham Dorrans, and Youssouf Mulumbu to add to a squad already containing the likes of Kevin Phillips, Chris Brunt, and Zoltan Gera.

On the face of it, West Brom had recruited wisely and looked the strongest out of their fellow promotion rivals to go on and retain their place in the top division of English football, but what transpired will still give Baggies supporters unwelcome memories.

Having lost both of their opening league games away to Arsenal and at home to Everton, Mowbray decided the club needed to further invest in the squad if they were to stand a chance of staying up, as they broke their transfer record to bring in an attacking midfielder who they had hoped would help to unlock defences for them.

Instead, the effect that they had was negligible, and his entire stay at The Hawthorns proved to be unmemorable.

West Brom signed Borja Valero from Mallorca for a then club-record fee to strengthen their survival hopes

Spanish attacking-midfielder Borja Valero became the Baggies' most expensive signing of all time when he made the move from Mallorca to the Black Country in a £4.7 million deal in the summer of 2008, signing a four-year deal at The Hawthorns with the hope that he possessed the necessary quality to carry them to safety.

His arrival surpassed the price that West Brom paid Cardiff City for Robert Earnshaw back in 2004, and upon his arrival, Mowbray said, “I don't think he will have any problems settling into our team, or playing in the Premier League, although he will obviously need some time to adjust to the English game.”

Having lost both their opening game, Valero was thrust straight into the starting XI for the Baggies’ trip to Bolton Wanderers, where he was replaced just before the hour mark in a 0-0 draw, though he followed that up by grabbing the assist for James Morrison’s opening goal in their 3-2 home win over West Ham in their following fixture.

That would be about as good as it got for Valero for a while, as although he showed glimpses of his quality, this culminated in few direct goal contributions, going the next 20 league games without scoring or assisting as West Brom went on a ten-game winless streak, which only ended after Valero was taken out of the side for their 2-1 home win against Manchester City.

A Real Madrid youth product, Valero played in several positions under Mowbray across the midfield, though never nailing down one particular role as his own, as he struggled to adapt to English football.

The Spaniard would assist just once more in West Brom colours, during a 3-1 home win over Wigan Athletic in the latter stages of the campaign, with the Baggies fighting for their lives at the foot of the table.

Unfortunately for them and for Valero, his addition did little in the way of helping to retain their Premier League status, as West Brom finished rock-bottom of the Premier League and were immediately relegated back to the Championship, whilst their promotion rivals, Hull and Stoke, both retained their status in the top flight for another year.

As far as record signings go, Valero’s three assists and zero goals fell well short of expectations upon his move to the Midlands, with his lack of output a key reason for the Baggies finishing three points from safety.

It looked as though at one point that Valero would remain at the club upon their relegation, saying, “I still have a three-year contract here and would like to be true to that. "For sure playing in the second division is not ideal. But if I have to put up with it then I am going to put up with it.”

However, his loyalty would fade quickly, as just a month or so later, Valero said, “I prefer to play in Mallorca and not to be in the second division in England. This is clear. I am disposed for a loan return but it is necessary for an accord between the clubs.”

A loan move back to Mallorca was sanctioned shortly after, bringing his stay with the Baggies to a disappointing close, with the Spaniard certainly never justifying his club-record fee.

Borja Valero forged a successful career following his West Brom exit

Following his exit from the Hawthorns, Valero would spend two seasons on loan back in his native Spain, first with Mallorca and then with Villarreal, before moving to the Yellow Submarine on a permanent basis in 2011.

Spells in Italy with Fiorentina and Inter at the back end of his career saw his time in the professional game come to a close, with over 400 combined appearances in the Spanish and Italian top flight, as well as over 100 goal contributions.

However, Valero never showed what he was capable of during his time with West Brom, and had they remained up, and he stayed for longer, maybe The Hawthorns could’ve seen the quality he possessed.

West Brom, naturally, have broken their transfer record since then, but at the time, Valero arrived with so much expectation but delivered so little, as this deal fell flat for the Baggies.