Goncalo Guedes Joins Valencia from Paris Saint-Germain for €40 Million

Goncalo Guedes has signed for Valencia from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth €40 million. He joins Los Che permanently after spending the 2017-18 season on loan at the club. 

The Spanish team announced the move on Twitter:

AS' Julian Burgos and Manu Sainz reported on the total cost of the deal.

Long regarded as a top prospect, Guedes broke through last season. The 21-year-old played a key role in Valencia's strong La Liga campaign, which eventually saw Los Che finish in fourth place and earn a spot in this year's UEFA Champions League.

The youngster scored five goals and produced nine assists in La Liga, and this effort against Real Betis was arguably the standout strike:

His strong form led to a spot in Portugal's World Cup starting XI, but the former Benfica man wasn't ready to make an impact on that stage. He also played out of position with the European champions, flanking Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo. At Valencia, he spent more time in behind the striker, playing both in a wide role and centrally.

Transfer speculation emerged almost as soon as the summer started. According to Marca's M.A. Rodrigues, Guedes was only interested in a move to Valencia, turning down a move to Watford. L'Equipe (h/t Sport Witness' Naveen Ullal) mentioned Wolverhampton Wanderers as a destination, pointing at the healthy relationship with agent Jorge Mendes.

Throughout the process, Guedes' full focus was on Valencia, per La Liga writer David Cartlidge:

PSG had no real plans for Guedes last year, and things hardly changed this summer. Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are still the favourites to start as the team's wingers, while there is plenty of attacking depth in the squad in the form of Julian Draxler, Angel Di Maria and Timothy Weah. 

A sale always seemed likely, with PSG still awaiting a final decision from UEFA in their ongoing financial fair play investigation, per BBC Sport. The Guedes deal will at the very least lift some of the pressure should the decision go against them.

It's a tremendous coup for Valencia, who had a full season to scout their new signing last year and have no doubts about his fit.