 Following a promising start – with another four matches in the starting XI – that included an assist against Athletic Bilbao in a 3–0 home win, Maldonado found himself out of favour with newly appointed coach Luis Fernández, and finished the campaign with 15 appearances, going scoreless in the process.In 2007–08, Maldonado was again loaned, to second division club Gimnàstic de Tarragona.At the end of the season he joined promoted Sporting de Gijón, on a three-year deal; on 21 December 2008 he netted his first goal for the Asturians, in a 1–0 home win over UD Almería, with his team narrowly avoiding top flight relegation.