Munir will play at Valencia this season. A carefully considered decision after the forward had rejected all types of offers in recent weeks.

Tomas Andreu

The avalanche of calls to his agents has been incessant, and more if we bear in mind that at least five of them have been followed up with concrete, formal offers to Barça.

The first to call and request a meeting was Schalke. The German side was prepared to negotiate a transfer or loan deal. The player fit the profile they were looking for, and they would have paid the player's wages in full.

The Premier League has provided a continuous source of contacts. Even more so after Munir notched a brace against Leicester in pre-season. From these enquiries, three offers were formalised.

Tottenham waited until a few days ago. Manager Mauricio Pochettino gave his blessing for the signing and the club were even willing to pay 15 million euros for the transfer, but were never comfortable with Barça maintaining a buy-back clause. Ronald Koeman's Everton also entered the chase.

The third club was West Ham. Their name had not come to light but their offer was the best of all. Until the last hours, they had asked if they had a chance to get Munir.

The forward has always shown his preference to remain in Spain. Celta made it known that they were willing to assume the wages of Munir, a proposal that interested the player, until Valencia improved the quantities involved.