If Málaga allow Manuel Pellegrini to leave for the vacant Manchester City job, per Sky Sports, then 21-year-old attacking midfielder Isco becomes a prime target for the Sky Blues, according to Danny Griffiths at The Metro.
Rather than have their answer to Andrea Pirlo, Valencia management were punting on Éver Banega as a playmaker, a role he's had varied success in.
Alejandro Domínguez never lived up to expectations after dominating in Russia, and he constantly went missing under Unai Emery.
Emery claimed Isco's fluctuating weight (something Cazorla struggled with early in his career) was the reason why the youngster never made it at Valencia, per AS.com:
AS.com: Have you heard about Unai Emery's comments about you in his book 'Winning mentality'? He said you had a tendency to put on weight.
Isco: Emery can say what he wants. I think he made a big mistake with me, not just in not giving me confidence, but also in the way he treated me. Perhaps he didn't give me confidence because I didn't win over his confidence.
Despite the setback, Isco knew his self-worth with the FIFA Technical Study Group highlighting him as an outstanding player during the 2009 U-17 FIFA World Cup and 2011 U-20 World Cup.
Two years later, Al Thani, frustrated by the lack of equality in La Liga, stopped funding Málaga, leaving the club in the red and incurring a one-year ban from European competitions.
The first few games of Isco's Málaga career must have been surreal knowing he was playing alongside a masterful technician in Santi Cazorla, one of the best players in the world.
With Cazorla moving to Arsenal last summer, Isco was handed the reigns, and he's had more freedom to operate in his second season for the Andalusian club.
A 7.9 shots per league goal is not even in the ballpark of Real Valladolid's crafty 30-year-old, Óscar, whose SPLG is 3.9.
Though, Isco has repeatedly shown exceptional positional awareness, especially against struggling defenders like Pepe, who was outwitted by the Spaniard's smartness.
When the Málaga midfielder is on song, he takes over games as evidenced with braces vs. Zenit Saint Petersburg and Levante.
It's not just the goals, he can conjure up moments of sheer brilliance, and he was No. 1 in dribbles per game (4.8) during the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.
He has the passing range and the aptitude to seamlessly switch to a midfield conductor, which is what Andrés Iniesta does for Barcelona.
If Málaga wanted to keep Isco, they would have inserted a €90 million buyout clause, which is what Barcelona did with Thiago Alcântara.
Isco's €35 million buyout clause, via his recent contract extension, is pleading for a prospective buyer to trigger it this summer.
When Pellegrini became the Málaga manager, after being unceremoniously ousted at Real Madrid, he requested his former Villarreal player Cazorla, the current Arsenal star, who is finally receiving the world-wide recognition he should have always had.
23-year-old Japanese international Hiroshi Kiyotake, of Nuremberg, doesn't just have vast marketing value, but he has more league assists with inferior players (10) than David Silva (8), who plays alongside some of the most expensive strikers in the world.
Atlético Madrid's 21-year-old midfielder Koke is a more complete footballer, averaging more tackles per game (2.3) than Isco (1.4) and threads more penetrating passes, hence why the Atléti midfielder has seven more assists.
If Mancini was still the manager, then buying Isco is unnecessary as the chances of him being lost in the shuffle is high.
However, if Pellegrini is the manager, you have to project that he'll put Isco, who has FIFA Ballon d'Or potential, in the best situation to succeed.
Via: The IOC officially approves the 2004 for Manolo Martinez-Olympic bronze
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