As expected, Cristiano Piccini has returned to Valencia after his loan with option to buy at Atalanta was abandoned early.

The wing-back had joined on September 9 with option to buy for €3m.

However, as throughout his career, injuries plagued his time in Bergamo and he made just one appearance for the club.

That was for an hour against Spezia on November 21, 2020.

Piccini flew back to Spain this morning and will resume training with Valencia.

Atalanta and Valencia are close to reaching an agreement and Cristiano Piccini seems set for a return to the Mestalla.

Tuttomercatoweb reveals the two parties are close to terminating the loan deal for the defender and that he will soon return to La Liga.

Piccini arrived from Valencia on loan with an option to buy last summer and his contract with Valencia expires in June 2022.

Valencia are evaluating a return for Cristiano Piccini, as Atalanta are willing to terminate the 28-year-old’s loan deal this winter.

The right-back arrived in Bergamo last summer, but has struggled with injuries since his return to Serie A.

La Dea signed the defender on loan with an option to buy, but Tuttomercatoweb reveals Piccini wants to return to Valencia this winter.

Napoli defender Nikola Maksimovic has clubs lining up for him, including Milan, Inter, Valencia and Olympique Marseille.

The centre-back will be out of contract at the Stadio San Paolo at the end of this season and negotiations for a new deal seem to have ground to a halt.

According to Sport Mediaset, Serie A sides interested in snapping up the Serbia international for free are San Siro rivals Inter and Milan.

Elsewhere, Valencia are keeping a close eye on the situation, while le10sport.com point towards Marseille as a realistic option.

Gian Piero Gasperini notes the three-man defence was considered ‘heresy’ at Inter during his brief tenure, but ‘now Inter, Roma, Juventus and Lazio all play’ like Atalanta.

It’s remarkable to think after reaching the Champions League quarter-finals that Gasperini’s tenure almost ended within a couple of months of his appointment in June 2016, as his team lost four of their first five games.

Udinese playmaker Rodrigo de Paul has revealed he wants a return to La Liga and said he would ‘be happy’ to join Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid.

De Paul stayed in Udine beyond the transfer market and continues to impress with the Friuli, but he admits he wants a return to La Liga one day.

“I would like to return to Spain with the experience, the mentality and the name I now have,” De Paul told Marca. “It’s not something that makes me lose sleep, but it helped me a lot to play there.

Napoli forward Arkadiusz Milik will reportedly train on his own until January, after rejecting late moves to Fiorentina and Valencia yesterday.

Il Corriere dello Sport reports Milik, who had his mind set on a move to Juventus on a reported deal worth €5m a season, ended up rejecting a move to Fiorentina on transfer deadline day.

SportMediaset revealed Milik only wanted Juventus and a phone call from Andrea Pirlo reassuring him the Bianconeri were looking forward to welcoming the Poland international infuriated Azzurri patron Aurelio De Laurentiis.

Juventus defender Daniele Rugani is going to be in the Champions League with Rennes, who reportedly agreed terms with club and player.

The centre-back had also been linked with Newcastle United, West Ham, Fulham, Sevilla and Valencia.

However, Sky Sport Italia claim he has struck a deal to join Stade Rennais in Ligue 1, on loan at a cost of €1.5m.

The French side will also pay his full salary during the loan spell, but there does not seem to be an option to buy.

Newcastle United are reportedly ready to improve upon Valencia’s offer for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani.

The centre-back is on the market, as he has fallen down the pecking order over the last year and is not part of Andrea Pirlo’s plans.

Valencia had been the hot favourites for his signature, ahead of Sevilla, Fulham and West Ham United.

Valencia appear to have won the race to sign Juventus defender Daniele Rugani, according to Spanish sources, beating West Ham, Fulham, Rennes and Sevilla.

As reported by Football Espana, Cadena Cope claim Rugani and Tottenham’s Juan Foyth will join Valencia in the final days of the transfer session.

Rugani is on the market after barely featuring in the past couple of years, falling far down the pecking order in Turin.