Madrid's ‘new Hierro’, Málaga's latest splurge and Cesc's 'imminent' arrival

With Spain in the midst of a heatwave - it was 30 degrees in Madrid at nine in the morning for frack's sake - the lethargic, sweating sports press have given up the ghost a little as far as second guessing whatâÂÂs going on in the transfer market is concerned, especially when it comes to 'the Big Two'.

So far it has been Málaga who have lead the way with the kind of swagger befitting of a post-bleach-job Guti. The â¬4 million signing of Joaquín from Valencia has taken their summer splurge on grizzly old timers just one last case away from handing in their badge and leaving the force to â¬28 million. The locals have understandably been getting most excited about the revolution taking place on the south coast, with 16,000 turning up to give the left-winger a big, warm and non-literal hand on his arrival.

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