Albacete snap up San Bartolomé to bolster midfield options

Albacete Balompié have moved to strengthen their engine room with the acquisition of Basque midfielder Víctor San Bartolomé from Barakaldo CF, with the 24-year-old penning a deal that’ll keep him at the Carlos Belmonte until 2028.

Athletic Club academy graduate

San Bartolomé, born in Barakaldo on October 26, 1999, began his football journey in Athletic Club’s famed Lezama academy setup. His development path took him through Baskonia before making his debut in Spain’s third tier with Athletic’s B team during the 2017-18 campaign.

The midfielder’s time in Bilbao proved substantial, racking up 93 official appearances for the reserve side before seeking new pastures in the summer of 2022.

Journey through reserve teams

After leaving Athletic, San Bartolomé’s career has seen him:

• Spend two seasons at Celta Fortuna (Celta Vigo’s B team), making 40 appearances
• Move to Real Unión de Irún for the 2024-25 season, where he played 29 matches and scored 6 goals
• Return to his hometown club Barakaldo CF last summer, where he’s been in fine nick with 7 goals in 18 appearances this term

What Albacete are getting

The Carlos Belmonte outfit are adding a midfielder with serious goal threat to their ranks. San Bartolomé has accumulated an impressive 180 appearances in Spain’s third tier throughout his career, with his goalscoring form particularly catching the eye recently.

With 13 goals in the last season and a half, he brings that much-coveted ability to arrive late in the box and finish chances - something every gaffer in the land would give their right arm for.

Albacete supporters will be hoping their new signing can hit the ground running and help push the club up the Segunda División table. If he can translate that scoring touch to the second tier, they might’ve found themselves a right Bobby Dazzler in the middle of the park.