Alcacer leaves Dortmund for Villarreal in reported €23M deal

Paco Alcacer is swapping one yellow kit for another.

Villarreal announced the signing of the Spanish striker to a five-and-a-half-year deal on Thursday, paying Borussia Dortmund a reported €23-million fee for the 26-year-old.

Alcacer, who scored 26 goals in 47 matches for the Bundesliga club, found himself on the outskirts of the starting XI after Dortmund made arguably the biggest splash of the January window by signing teen striker Erling Braut Haaland. Alcacer's hopes of retaining significant playing time were dealt an immediate blow when Haaland notched five goals in his first two Bundesliga matches.

The Valencia youth product now returns to La Liga, where he enjoyed spells with both his hometown club and Barcelona prior to embarking on his brief Bundesliga sojourn.

Villarreal, sitting eighth in the Spanish top flight, were in the market for a striker after loaning Karl Toko Ekambi to Lyon earlier in January.