[Mighty T.A.L.]

Valencia eye Taiwo and Helguera

Valencia have targetted Marseille full-back Taye Taiwo and Real Madrid's Iván Helguera after deciding that Asier Del Horno, Curro Torres and David Navarro have no future at the club.

Coach Quique Sánchez Flores has informed the trio that they are surplus to requirements and the hunt has begun for their replacements.

Taiwo is at the top of the list for a new left-back after his impressive displays over the past two seasons in Ligue 1.

The 22-year-old Nigerian international has been the subject of interest from Internazionale, but the Italian club have not registered a bid.

Flores had Taiwo watched during the last weeks of the season and the technical staff at Valencia all agree that he fits the profile that they want.

While the former Lobi Stars player is non-EU, los Ché will not consider that to be an obstacle as they still have free spaces.

Taiwo rose to prominence during the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championships as Nigeria reached the final and he was named as the third best player behind John Obi Mikel and Lionel Messi.

Negotiations to sign Helguera are continuing as Bernd Schuster has designated that the former Espanyol centre-back is not a key part of his plans.

The arrival of Pepe and Christoph Metzelder at Madrid has seen Helguera's position at the club become untenable and he is set to leave before pre-season begins.

Another new arrival at Mestalla could be Porto midfielder Lucho González and Valencia are confident that a deal can be wrapped up this week.

Source: www.goal.com