Transfer deadline day: Real Madrid winger Denis Cheryshev agrees loan move to Valencia

Real Madrid winger Denis Cheryshev has agreed a loan move to Valencia, despite reports Liverpool were ready to make a move for the player before the transfer window closes on 11pm 1 February. The 25-year-old winger was heavily linked with a transfer to Anfield during the summer mercato after reports in Spain claimed that then manager Brendan Rodgers had identified him as Raheem Sterling's replacement.

Reports in Spain at the time claimed the Merseysiders were willing to pay around £15m ($21.8m) after Cheryshev's impressive loan spell at Villarreal, scoring 7 goals and providing 11 assists. However, the Russia international eventually remained at the Santiago Bernabeu, possible because Rafa Benitez was opposed to his departure.

New manager Zinedine Zidane, however, revealed at the weekend he was ready to let the player go, after he failed to start a single league game during the opening run of the season.

"We'll see tomorrow but yes, Cheryshev could leave. He's a great player but he needs to play," the Real Madrid manager said after the La Liga win over Espanyol.

The Mirror later reported that Liverpool were ready to renew their attempts to secure the player's services after Shakhtar Donetsk knocked them back over their main target, Alex Texeira.

However, AS indicates that Cheryshev has instead opted to move to Gary Neville's side after the clubs agreed a loan deal until the end of the campaign.

Cheryshev will join Guilherme Siqueira after the left-back became Neville's first signing of the January transfer window, arriving on loan from Atletico Madrid.

Valencia are in desperate need for reinforcement after Neville has failed to win a La Liga game in eight attempts since replacing Nuno Espírito Santo in December 2015, with his side 12th despite starting the season off intending to finish top 4.