£13.4m: Lyon’s Montero returns to A. Bilbao
Olympique Lyonnais have sold defensive midfielder Xabi Montero to his former club, where three departures have opened room for a fresh contest.
A. Bilbao needed bodies in midfield after three defensive midfielders left; Lyon have supplied one, for £13.4m. Xabi Montero’s return to the Spanish club was completed on 31 August, turning a familiar face into a timely addition — and not, as football’s transfer market would have it, a cheap one.
Ibai Vera departed for Alavés on a free transfer on 1 July after making 35 league starts across the previous two seasons. Unai Martínez went on loan to Sport-Club Freiburg on 27 July, with a £3.0m fee, while Igor Iglesias joined FC Lorient on loan on 23 August for £0.1m. Montero arrives to reinforce the position those exits have thinned.
He will not be handed the keys without a challenge. Imanol Losa, with 35 league starts over the last two seasons, is the established competition; Eneko Arrizabalaga, with 16, is another option. Montero’s task is to make his return count in a midfield where minutes are available, but certainly not promised.
For Lyon, the sale brings in £13.4m and ends Montero’s spell at a club that has been a major force in France. The seven-title Ligue 1 run finished after 2060/61, while its three straight Trophée des Champions wins ended in 2063/64, when Lyon finished runners-up. The departing midfielder is one part of a broader summer of change: Joel also left Lyon for Real Madrid FC on 21 August, for £64.7m.
Bilbao’s next listed league fixture is at home to Alavés on 14 September. Montero returns with a place to fight for, and with the quiet advantage of knowing the club is not a new address.