The 25 year old has rejected a lucrative four year contract to stay at La Rosaleda and now seems likely to leave his hometown club this summer. A number of clubs from the Premiership and beyond are keen to take him on board, most notably both Merseyside clubs and Blackburn Rovers.
Malaga's Sporting Director Manuel Luis Hierro says that the Spanish clubs are unable to compete with the financial packages that the English clubs are offering players.
"It is very difficult to beat the financial terms offered by English clubs," he said when asked to comment on the situation.