Everything you needed to know, and maybe some stuff you didn't.
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| Swansea target Jose Canas. |
It seems like a long, long time ago now. When Michael Laudrup took charge in the summer of 2012 we were all wondering, given his extensive contact list and reputation, what players he'd be able to persuade to join him at the Liberty Stadium. So far, nearly all of his signings have been hits; Jonathan De Guzman and Michu both being plucked from La Liga and Chico Flores from Serie A. Pablo Hernandez, too, joined from Valencia and, while his form hasn't been as consistent as we would have hoped, he's shown he's a player of real quality. Dwight Tiendalli has been, while unspectacular, effective in defence, and the promotion of Ben Davies through the ranks is something other manager's would possibly have shied away from. All of this leads us to believe Laudrup has the ability to spot which players will suit "The Swansea Way", even if he hasn't seen them in action over an extended time period.
Jose Canas
The rumours that we are interested in Seville-born Jose Canas originally surfaced before Christmas, with the earliest rumours appearing online in early September. It's clear Laudrup has had his eye on the hirsute midfielder for a while, although there's no evidence of a concrete bid before the January transfer window. As it drew close, rumours intensified, and we seemed set to see Canas strutting his stuff in SA1 before the end of January - however that was not to be the case. The Swans were rumoured to have offered £750,000 up front (due to the fact that Canas' contract is expiring in the summer and he announced in the wake of Swansea's interest he would not be renewing his current deal) but knowing Huw his opening gambit was somewhat lower. For the time being at least, this seems to have bitten the Swans in the derriere. It's also been rumoured that Canas agreed a contract with the Swans, and then offered to take a lower weekly wage so that the Swans would up their offer, in an effort to secure the move in January (link here). The problem seems to lie with Real Betis' precarious financial state. Heavily in debt, if they sold Canas for a million Euros, they'd only actually see 300,000 - as the rest would go to corporation tax, the Spanish tax authorities, and the club's debtors.
A product of the Real Betis youth system, he isn't the first Canas to play for Los Verdiblancos. His uncle Juan José played 228 games for the club, and lifted the Copa Del Rey as captain. He also returned after a brief sortie elsewhere late in his playing career to work behind the scenes at Betis for two years, after retiring at the age of 36. Nephew Jose (full name José Cañas Ruiz-Herrera) got his debut for the first team after impressing in the "C" and "B" sides in the 2008/2009 season. It came in the form of a seven minute cameo at the tail end of a 2-0 home loss to Atletico Madrid, and Canas would have been forgiven for being disheartened temporarily, as the Andalusians were ultimately relegated at the seasons end, and Canas had to make do with another season playing for the club's B side. 2010-2011 though was a different season. Canas broke into the first team, although slowly. Four starts in a total of fifteen appearances was reason to be positive however, as Real Betis returned to La Liga as champions.
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| Jose Canas: I like this. |
A solid first season back in La Liga saw Canas featuring 22 times as he started to cement his position in the team. They ended up finishing 13th, a respectable finish for a club who didn't spend a huge amount of money in the wake of being promoted. This season, however, Betis have kicked on and find themselves occupying sixth place in the league. A check of some stats and Jose Canas has made 21 appearances (1 a sub) with a pass completion rate of 80.6% (712/883 passes completed). An average of 42 passes a match would indicate he's a player who'd suit the Swans down to the ground, as that number would likely increase given the Swans growing mastery of the "tika-taka" style. He's only got one assist this season, though, and plays 0.3 killer passes a game, apparently. One every three games then. Is he starting to sound like a hairy Spanish Leon to anyone else yet? He does, however, average 3.3 successful long balls per game (70/104 in total) so with the Swans finally seeming to possess an aerial threat in Michu, this could be very handy. He has a shot every other game, and, sedately, a dribble every five games. It seems this is one very disciplined defensive midfielder - he's made 1.9 tackles, two clearances, and 3 interceptions a game so far this season, further strengthening my "Spanish Leon" theory.
As mentioned, it seemed the clubs and player were close to an agreement in January. First, coach Pepe Mel (the Spanish Mal Pope?) came out and announced Canas would be leaving at the end of his contract:
“I have 100 per cent security that he will not continue beyond June 30. I know he is committed to the club and his teammates, he will give 100 per cent whilst he is here. In fact tomorrow he will play. I am convinced that he is going to give 100 per cent, he is a Betico and was brought up here.” Pepe Mel
One thing to note from that quote is that Canas is clearly used to a club with a strong sense of family - Betis are one of those institutions which derive a greater sense of togetherness from the fact that they are not, and will never be, on a par with teams such as Barca and Real Madrid.
Next, it was announced by Mel that Canas would be going nowhere for the time being:
"It has been decided, unless Swansea say something different, that Canas stays here until June 30. As we saw in Zaragoza (last Friday), he is a committed player, he gives everything and he stood out as he always does. We left him out for the cup game as a precaution, but he will train as normal on Thursday" Pepe Mel
It seems that after Canas put in another strong performance the club re-assessed how much they needed the defensive midfielder to maintain their lofty league status this season - a string of impressive performances (as detailed here in an excellent blog/source of stats) towards Christmas possibly meant that while it would naturally draw attention to the player, it would also mean he'd be staying at the club until the end of the season - new contract or not.
I'm aware of the old adage that "you can prove anything with a statistic" and that's true - however it does seem that Jose Canas is very much in the Swansea City mould. With a section of the Swansea support having cried out for extra defensive muscle in midfield for some time now, it seems they may be about to get their wish. With some reports even suggesting a deal is already in place for his signature, it now remains a matter of time before we find out whether Canas will indeed sign in the summer. Hopefully he won't do a Sigurdsson...
"Vital statistics"
Age: 25
Height: 1.77m (5'10")
| Career stats lifted straight from Wikipedia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2007 | Betis C | ||
| 2006–2010 | Betis B | 79 | (4) |
| 2009– | Betis | 54 | (0) |