I was away on vacation for a week so perhaps this has already been discussed, (but a quick search turned up nothing). It appears official, now, that Valverde will return with Movistar for 2012.

http://noticiasdenavarra.com/2011/09/04/deportes/ciclismo/unzue-confirma-el-retorno-de-valverde-y-niega-que-este-hecho-el-de-karpets

It comes as little surprise considering Valverde has been riding and unofficially training with friends and Movistar riders in Spain to keep in shape. It's no secret that Unzue has a soft spot for the Murcian. This to me makes Movistar a team more capable of racking up the wins next year if Valverde can hold his previous form, but there will also be many questions about that until he hits the road.

Maybe the biggest question is: How much will Valverde be in the 2012 VDS? 2? 14? 16? 20? 28?

UPDATE: More details coming out on the Valverde signing. The Murcian paper linked below states that Valverde signed with Movistar for 2 years with an option on the third for almost 2million euros per year.

Further, that he was offered more money by both Radioshack/L-T !?!?!? and Quickstep, but not significantly more @ a reported 2.1million per. A drop from his former 3million per, but likely because his WT points won't count for 2 years. Valverde perhaps prefers the leadership role he will be given, and familiarity at Movistar vs the log-jam of riders at LT-Shack and Quickstep? 

http://www.laopiniondemurcia.es/deportes/2011/09/13/valverde-mantiene-estatus/350059.html