There may not have been any LaLiga Santander fixtures this past week, but there has still been a lot of LaLiga Santander news. The week started with a hectic transfer deadline day and that has been followed by contract renewals and accomplishments by Spain-based players during the international break.

The youngest ever Player of the Month

As a result of his scintillating performances to start the season, Ansu Fati was awarded the LaLiga Santander Player of the Month award for September. The FC Barcelona forward earned more votes than fellow nominees Mikel Merino, Iago Aspas, Sergio Canales, José Luis Morales, Luis Suárez and Luis Milla in a vote on the EA Sports website.

A busy deadline day

The 2020 summer transfer window has come to a close. Deadline day was a busy one for LaLiga Santander clubs and there were several eye-catching transfers, such as Sandro Ramírez and Roque Mesa joining Real Valladolid, Lucas Torreira moving to Atlético Madrid and Ante Budimir arriving at CA Osasuna.

Playoff success for Spain-based players

Playoff for next summer’s European Championships took place this past week, with several LaLiga players enjoying success with their countries. RCD Mallorca’s Martin Valjent reached one of the playoff finals with Slovakia. Almería’s Giorgi Makaridze, Tenerife’s Otar Kakabadze and Real Oviedo’s Giorgi Aburjania all did likewise with Georgia. Rayo Vallecano’s Stole Dimitrievski, Levante’s Enis Bardhi and RCD Mallorca’s Aleksandar Trajkovski did so with North Macedonia. And Eibar’s Marko Dmitrović, Almería’s Nikola Maraš, Sevilla’s Nemanja Gudelj, Getafe’s Nemanja Maksimović and Real Madrid’s Luka Jović all reached a playoff final too with Serbia.

LaLiga players score in the South American qualifiers

CONMEBOL’s qualification matches for the 2022 World Cup have started and several LaLiga players scored for their countries in the first round of fixtures. Atlético Madrid’s Luis Suárez and Valencia’s Maxi Gómez each scored for Uruguay in a 2-1 win over Chile. A Lionel Messi penalty gave Argentina a 1-0 victory over Ecuador. And Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho netted the final goal in Brazil’s 5-0 demolition of Bolivia.

An injury for Gerard Moreno

Villarreal CF forward Gerard Moreno has been one of the best players so far in this young LaLiga Santander season, but he suffered a muscle injury in his left leg while on Spain duty and is now set to miss around one month of action.

More injury frustration for Šime Vrsaljko

Another LaLiga Santander player who is really struggling with injury right now is Šime Vrsaljko. The Atlético Madrid right-back has had a number of knee issues over the past couple of years and had to go for further surgery this past week. He hasn’t been able to play since Atleti’s Champions League win over Liverpool in March.

Rubén García’s new deal

CA Osasuna were able to celebrate Rubén García putting pen to paper on a new deal, one that’ll run to 2024. The dynamic attacking midfielder has already been at the Pamplona-based club for just over two years and was key in winning promotion and in last season’s top-half finish.

Positive injury news for Rubén Blanco

RC Celta Vigo were dealt a double blow towards the end of last season when both of their first-team goalkeepers, Sergio Álvarez and Rubén Blanco, went down with long-term injuries. There has been some good news, though, as Rubén Blanco is making good progress and could return earlier than expected. He is already able to train on the pitches and could be back in November.

Real Betis extend Fran Delgado

Fran Delgado is one of the most promising players in Real Betis’ B team, the latest in a long line of talents to emerge from the Andalusian club’s academy. The 19-year-old right-back has even been called up to several of Manuel Pellegrini’s first-team matchday squads this season. This week, Real Betis showed just how convinced they are by the young full-back’s potential as they agreed a new contract that’ll run to 2024.

The Matchday Six dates and times are out

There is a big weekend of LaLiga Santander action coming up after the international break and the dates and kick-off times for Matchday Six are available for fans to consult. With Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Sevilla FC all playing in the Champions League the following midweek, all four of these teams will play on the Saturday of this Matchday Six in order to allow them as much rest time as possible.