Uruguayan international Maxi Gomez completes switch to Valencia from Celta Vigo

West Ham United have failed in their pursuit of target Maxi Gomez, as he has decided to stay in Spain joining Valencia from Celta Vigo for £12.5 million plus players.

The 12-time Uruguay international had a release clause of £45 million in his contract but a deal with Valencia was better suited for his former club Celta Vigo as both Santi Mina and Jorge Saenz are both moving away from the Mestalla to the Estadio Municipal de Balaídos.

Santi Mina will be rejoining the club he left as a teenager, the Spaniard joined ‘The Oranges’ back in 2015 for £7.1 million. During his time with his former club, he played 150 times while scoring 42 times for his old employers.

Defender Jorge Saenz will go to ‘The Celts’ after being loaned to the La Liga side, he only joined Valencia this transfer window from CD Tenerife, the side he had been at since a kid. The loan will last for two seasons with the La Liga side hoping he will gain vital first team experience.

Valencia have announced that their new striker will have a release clause of around £125 million, while also joining on a five-year deal which would see the attacker’s contract expire in the summer of 2025.

Champions League football was a huge selling point for Gomez with the former Celta player saying:

“I’m very happy to be joining Valencia, they’re a very big club and I’m happy to be here.

“It’s really nice to be able to play in the Champions League. I’ve never done that before, and from a young age I’ve always dreamt of playing in the Champions League and La Liga.

“I want to help the team and score many goals. I hope that good things are on the way. I’m going to give my all, as I have done for every club for which I’ve played.”

The 22-year-old has had a successful spell playing for Celta Vigo after joining from Defensor Sporting back in 2017, a side from the country of his birth. Since arriving in Europe, the attacker has netted 30 goals in 73 matches.

West Ham had seen Gomez as an option to replace the recently sold Marko Arnautovic but following a disagreement over paying the cost of his release clause, wanting to pay the fee in instalments rather than in full, the deal fell through.

The Hammers have now moved on with rumours spreading that Juventus forward Gonzalo Higuaín is next on their list as their search continues for a new striker.