The bizarre goalkeeper merry-go-round that never quite came off
A complex three-way transfer involving Las Palmas, Granada and Albacete fell through at the death, leaving all parties stuck with their current stoppers.
A tangled web of goalkeeper transfers between three Segunda División clubs collapsed at the eleventh hour, leaving everyone back at square one.
The Domino Effect That Never Toppled
The January window nearly produced one of those wonderfully complex transfer sagas that us football nerds absolutely live for. Las Palmas, Granada and Albacete were deep in negotiations for a proper keeper merry-go-round, but in the end, the whole thing went to pot.
At the heart of the matter was Caro’s situation at Las Palmas. Having joined the Canary Islanders last summer, the poor bloke’s been warming the bench all season thanks to Horkas’ stellar form between the sticks. The current Las Palmas number one has been proper tidy, conceding fewer goals than any other keeper in the division and becoming an absolute cornerstone of the team.
How It Was Supposed to Work
The plan was actually quite straightforward, at least on paper:
- Caro would move to Granada, who desperately need reinforcements in goal
- Las Palmas would then bring in Raúl Lizoain from Albacete, a Gran Canaria native who’s been having a blinder of a season
- Albacete would… well, that’s where things get a bit murky in the reporting
But as any transfer wheeler-dealer will tell you, these complicated moves are like a house of cards - one slight breeze and the whole lot comes crashing down.
Why It All Fell Apart
In the end, Caro didn’t make his move to Granada, which meant Las Palmas had no reason to trigger their interest in Lizoain. The tight deadlines and cross-negotiations proved too much to handle, and what seemed logical in theory turned out to be too delicate an operation in practice.
It’s a bit of a shame for all parties, especially Caro who must be desperate for some minutes. For now, all three keepers remain exactly where they started - which might be grand for some but not so much for others.