There are smiles on the green side of Seville this morning after Real Betis fans had two bits of good news late in the transfer window.
First, Los Verdiblancos picked up a useful 2-2 draw in La Liga against fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao with a star performance from their new recruit Antony, as the Brazilian star picked up the Man of the Match award. While a point is nothing to get too giddy about, it was a fair result for a team in tenth place in the table, and it did keep Betis ahead of city rivals Sevilla FC.
The signing on loan of Manchester United winger Antony raised a few eyebrows as former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini swooped to lift him away from the Premier League. But Red Devils fans, our SBOTOP buddy James among them, have been getting increasingly frustrated by the performances of a few of their star players, Antony among them.
Pellegrini started the 24-year-old against Bilbao, and he made an immediate impact, playing a big role in the build-up to Isco’s goal on 15 minutes, and he played 72 minutes in total before being replaced by Abde Ezzalzouli. And in that time, Antony showed what a good player he is, the man Manchester United paid £82 million to Ajax for and, if he continues to play the way he did on Sunday, then he can help Los Verdiblancos make a push for a European place.
After falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford under new manager Ruben Amorim, this could be the catalyst to relaunch Antony’s career, which still has the best years to come.
And there was more good news for Betis fans as the club announced the signing of Colombia striker Juan “Cucho” Hernandez from Columbus Crew to the La Liga club in a €16 million switch on deadline day. Cucho helped the Crew to win the MLS Championship in 2023 where he has scored an impressive 44 goals in 70 appearances. Last season, the 25-year-old was runner-up for the MLS Most Valuable Player as he scored 19 goals and made 14 assists from just 23 starts. He moved from Watford to Colombus in 2022 for a fee of around $10 million after impressing in the Premier League and he has previously played in La Liga, on loan from the Hornets to Getafe.
And those MLS statistics have Betis fans’ pulses racing, and the thought of Cucho linking up with Antony and Isco will have them dreaming of a charge up the table, leaving Sevilla in their wake.
Real keep hold of Rodrygo
It’s been a quiet January for the El Clasico pair though, over at the Santiago Bernabeu, there were fears a mega offer from the Saudi Pro League might be enough to take one of Carlo Ancelotti’s stars away. But Rodrygo remains a Los Blancos player, and the latest La Liga 2025 betting odds say the Brazil star will help Real Madrid to win the title in May. There was intense speculation surrounding Rodrygo’s immediate future throughout January, but he will remain with the Madrid club until the summer when they will be bracing themselves for another approach.
Rumours circulating in January suggested one Saudi club had offered an eye-watering €300 million for the 24-year-old, who has scored 32 goals in 161 appearances for the La Liga giants, and that’s the type of offer which is very difficult for any club to ignore. But, for now, Rodrygo remains a Galactico.
In other La Liga 2025 news, cash-strapped Barcelona received a welcome windfall following the transfer of their former player Nico Gonzalez from FC Porto to Manchester City. The Sky Blues have splashed out a reported €60 million for the 23-year-old in the hope he will be able to step in immediately to replace the injured Rodri.
And for the Catalans, who sold the defencive midfielder to Porto for a modest €8.5 million with a buy-back clause, this means a bonus of around €13 million, which means they will slightly ease their cash-flow without having to usher any players through the exit door. And that includes centre back Andreas Christensen, who was heavily linked with a move away from Barcelona after a first half of the campaign hampered by an Achilles injury.
Now recovered, the Denmark international can try to work his way back into Hansi Flick’s title plans as he competes for a defencive starting spot with Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi, and Ronald Araujo. And, with four points to make up on league leaders Real Madrid and Champions League and Copa del Rey football to balance, Flick needs plenty of cover in his squad.
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