Valencia coach Gary Neville says his club have double-checked with the Spanish FA to make sure new signing Denis Cheryshev is clear to play in Wednesday's Copa del Rey semifinal first leg at Barcelona.
Cheryshev's only start of the season so far was for Real Madrid in their Copa early round fixture at Cadiz -- an appearance which led to the Bernabeu outfit being thrown out of the competition as the Russia international was ineligible, having picked up a ban on loan at Villarreal last term.
After the deadline-day loan move to Valencia opened up the chance of Cheryshev continuing in the competition, Los Che's English coach told a news conference that he wanted to be doubly sure of the regulations, and the 25-year-old could well now feature at the Camp Nou.
"We've actually been in touch with the federation as we don't want to make the same mistake," Neville said. "We have asked a series of questions. He is on the list, he will travel with us. He has only had one training session with us, so we will have to wait and see. I understand you want the headline!"
Neville said he was very happy that late in the January window Valencia had been able to bring in a proven La Liga quality player such as Cheryshev, as well as left-back Guilherme Siqueira from Atletico Madrid.
"It was a very quiet window in Spain," he said. "I actually think we've done two very good bits of business. The work of Suso [sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch] was fantastic. Cheryshev only became available at 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon. He's a player who's been on Valencia club radar for 12-18 months, not just appeared. A player you don't think will become available. Siqueira we had discussed, circumstances develop, you have to be adaptable."
Under Neville, Valencia have progressed in the Copa past third-tier Barakaldo and Primera sides Granada and Las Palmas, although they are now without a win in 11 La Liga games -- eight since Neville replaced Nuno Espiritu Santo as coach in December -- which is something the former media pundit put down to the team having had better fortune in cup games.
"My good fortune here has been in the Copa," he said. "We saw in La Liga on Sunday [the 1-0 home defeat to Sporting Gijon] that good fortune did not follow us there. The performance against Barca a few weeks ago [a 1-1 draw] was determined, competitive.
"We must take that to the new Nou Camp. It is important that we return to Mestalla with a big opportunity -- that's the intent tomorrow night. We understand the difficulty of the opponent, but my players are made for this type of game."
Wednesday's game also sees Neville return to the scene of Manchester United's dramatic Champions League victory in 1999.
"It is obviously my greatest memory in football, to play there and to win a Champions League final in the last minute of the game, a wonderful experience," he said. "But my concentration and efforts are on the Valencia players walking off the pitch tomorrow with a fantastic experience, that I feel happy with them, and the fans."
Cheryshev also spoke to the media as he was presented as a Valencia player until the end of the season, and was asked about the possibility of actually winning the Copa after having been frozen out at Madrid following the Cadiz debacle.
"Life is full of surprises," he said. "It is not easy for anyone when you are not playing, especially when you start a season having played a lot the previous year. But you have to learn from everything and I am grateful to Real Madrid for letting me train with great players -- and to Valencia for the opportunity to come here. I'm delighted.
"Valencia are a huge club and it's a great opportunity for me to come here. The sporting director and the coaching staff have shown confidence in me and I want to help however I can. When the option of Valencia came up, I didn't think twice."