Mexicans Abroad Roundup: Rumors, loans, and transfers

Now that the World Cup is over, It is time to catch up on the news and rumors of Mexican players moving to abroad. The transfer market is open until late August in most of the top leagues in Europe, so there is still plenty of time for deals to be made. Mexico had an average World Cup (like usual) but there were a few players that stood out and have created some hype for themselves. Let’s take a look at where they are now and where they might end up. I’ll start with the done deals and then move on to the rumors and speculation.

Nestor Araujo

After having a championship season with Santos Laguna, Araujo showed that he is one of the best Mexican defenders. Despite an injury that kept him out of the 2018 World Cup, Celta de Vigo completed his transfer very early in the transfer window. Let’s hope that he can earn a spot in the starting lineup and improve even more as a player so that he can be in Qatar 2022. At only 26 years old he still has plenty to give.

Miguel Layun

Miguel Layun had a decent performance in Russia, and at 30 years of age, most players would be looking to cash in by coming to MLS or back to Liga MX. But not Layun, who after his loan spell with Sevilla went wel,l he was sought out by other European clubs and eventually signed with Villarreal for the next few seasons. Villarreal is a good team that finished 5th in La Liga and qualified for the Europa League. With his age, Layun should start to be phased out of the national team but it never hurts to have as many quality players as possible playing in the top leagues.

Oswaldo Alanís

Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images

Even though he has had many solid seasons with Chivas, one of the players that Osorio decided to leave out of the final list for Russia was Oswaldo Alanís. Despite his World Cup snub, he drew the atention of European clubs. After a rough season dealing with Chivas’ board, Alanís finally signed for Getafe in Spain. Many poeple outside of Spain have not heard of Getafe, but they are a gritty team that managed to grind out a lot of good results and ended last season in 8th place in La Liga. At age 29, Alanís left for Europe a bit late, but again, it can only benefit Mexico in the long run.

Loans

Raul Jimenez-Woverhampton

Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

The quest for playing time has led Raul to England, as he has been loaned out to Wolverhampton Wanderers for the upcoming season. Wolverhampton is newly promoted to the Premier League and has invested heavily in their squad, in an attempt to stay in the top tier of English football. With all the new signings and the ever-present threat of relegation, there will be a lot of competition for the starting spots. Hopefully Raul can rise to the occasion, show his quality, and be a consistent starter.

Staying Put:

Héctor Moreno- Real Sociedad

Andrés Guardado- Real Betis Tecatito Corona-Porto Chicharito Hernadez-West Ham United Uriel Antuna-Groningen Marco Fabián-Eintracht Frankfurt Carlos Salcedo- Eintracht Frankfurt Antonio Brieseño-Feirense

Everything points to these players staying put in their clubs for the time being, but you never know so stay tuned for any new developments.

Rumors

After having an amazing showing in Russia, Guillermo Ochoa has been rumored to be leaving Belgium for a better league. He has been mentioned as an option for teams in Spain, France, and Italy, but nothing concrete has been reported. Hirving “Chucky” Lozano carried over his good form from his debut season at PSV Eindhoven and impressed at the World Cup. If you listen to the rumors that have circulated, he is wanted by many clubs. A strong possibility in England emerged because of a former PSV administrator moving to Everton. Rumors of Manchester United and Arsenal being interested also emerged. Again, nothing concrete has surfaced so keep your eyes and ears open for a potential move for “el Chucky”. If nothing happens, PSV is in the Champions League and will continue to challenge for the league in Holland so that’s not a bad option either. All signs point to Omar Govea leaving Royal Excel Mouscron with Vitoria de Guimaraes in Portugal being the likely destination for the midfielder. The Portuguese league is much higher quality than the Belgian league so if this transfer goes through it can only be beneficial for Omar. The juiciest rumors have got to be the ones about Hector Herrera, every team from Real madrid to Juventus has been linked with him. He had a good season with Porto and a good World Cup and a move to a better league is not out of the realm of possibility.

There are many other Mexicans playing in European clubs in the lower divisions and in the youth teams that can also make the jump to first division and the first team as well. Mexico also had a good Toulon tournament, so many of our youth players are now on the radar of European clubs. We will do our best to keep you informed of everything going on during the transfer window stays open and throughout the season of European club fútbol.