On September 1, 2022, the Espanyol sports management, led by Domingo Catoira, suffered a very serious credibility blow. Until the last minute of that market there were options for Raúl de Tomás to leave transferred to Rayo Vallecano. The club denied having reached an agreement with the Madrid entity that night, something that happened days later with the usual damage to the parakeet interests. That was the culmination of a difficult market, in which the technical secretariat was not up to the task. Many players left and not all substitutes offered the same guarantees. The squad fell short and even Diego Martínez was upset with the situation. Only the last-minute signing of Martin Braithwaite mitigated the enormous criticism from the environment.
From that moment on, all the club's estates dedicated themselves to publicly ensuring that errors would be corrected in the winter market. But in the offices the difficulties were reproduced. Catoira and Martínez came to discuss in public during the concentration of Murcia for it. With the new year came César Montes, central guarantee that Espanyol must capitalize on in the coming years. Later it was done by a lateral despised at a press conference by Martínez, later reprimanded by Catoira. “This Pierre-Gabriel responds to a need on the side. But the one who can best tell you about him is the sports director who knows him best", said the coach. "Diego Martínez participates in all the signings and I am responsible for having brought Diego Martínez," Catoira replied.
A few hours before the winter market closes (today at 11:59 p.m.), Espanyol is in a position to close two very important operations for the entity. On the one hand, the soap opera starring Denis Suárez and Carlos Mouriño, president of Celta, with the blue and white team as an exceptional spectator, must end with the Galician swearing the parakeet flag until the end of the season. Suárez traveled on his behalf to Barcelona last Sunday but he still has to solve important issues. In one last fight raised by Mouriño, Celta asks him to give up the monthly payment owed to him in order to leave. Espanyol already has an agreement with both the club and the player, who will receive much less than half of the 5 million euros he charges in Vigo. The arrival of Suárez, who can also play on the wing, would mean a leap in quality for a very precarious midfield.
In the case of the other reinforcement, Catoira has tried to make a virtue of necessity. After the injury to Keidi Bare, who will be out for at least the next three months, the club considered whether to look for a patch or bet on a young player who could be revalued. Finally, he opted for José Gragera, a young midfielder (22), with a defensive cut but with good ball handling, and an under-21 international, who has been shining for two and a half years at Sporting de Gijón.
The contacts began last week and yesterday both clubs reached an agreement in principle, according to Cadena COPE, for which the player will be transferred in exchange for 2.8 million euros, plus a percentage of a future sale. Gragera, who rejected several renewal offers from Sporting de Gijón and a proposal from Braga, will sign throughout today until 2026.
If all the plans are fulfilled as planned in the offices of the RCDE Stadium, Espanyol will have achieved their goals. An investment with present and future (César Montes), a quality replacement (Denis Suárez), a purchase that could generate equity (Gragera) and a winger with a purchase option (Pierre-Gabriel). A much more optimistic market
