Football: Getafe sign Georgian central defender Saba Sazonov

Madrid, Aug 4 (IANS) Georgia international centre-back Saba Sazonov has joined Getafe for the 2026-27 season, the Madrid-based club confirmed on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old arrives on a free transfer and has signed a contract through June 2027, with the option of an additional year, according to Getafe’s official website.

Sazonov began his career with Zenit St. Petersburg and has also played for Dynamo Moscow and Italian side Torino, for which he made 13 first-team appearances. However, a knee ligament injury halted his progress, leaving him with just two minutes of first-team football over the past two years.

Spanish sports daily Marca reported that he had been close to joining Getafe last season, only for a last-minute paperwork error to derail the deal.

Getafe have continued to strengthen their squad a month before the start of the new La Liga season by signing right-back Andres Garcia from Aston Villa, reports Zinhua.

The 23-year-old Spaniard joins on loan after making just 18 first-team appearances for the Premier League club, which he joined from Levante in January 2025.

He will help cover the loss of Juan Iglesias, who left on a free transfer at the end of June to join Sevilla.

Announcing the signing, Getafe’s official website described Garcia as a “full-back who covers a lot of ground and has his main strengths, his ability to push into attack, his defensive security and his strength in the air.”

Getafe narrowly missed out on European qualification last season after a strong second half of the campaign, but the team has lost several key players this summer, including midfielders Luis Milla and Mauro Arambarri, as well as defenders Domingos Duarte and Iglesias.

Coincidentally, Garcia made his first-team debut for Levante in January 2023 in a Copa del Rey match against Getafe.

Before that, Jose Bordalas had agreed a new contract with Getafe after leading the club into European competition last season. The 64-year-old has signed a two-year deal that will keep him at the club until the end of June 2028, after earlier uncertainty over his future amid difficulties in reaching an agreement with Getafe president Angel Torres.

In a statement announcing the agreement, Getafe described Bordalas as “one of the most important figures in the recent history of the club.”

–IANS

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