Espanyol, between the derby and the market

Espanyol will arrive at the Camp Nou derby with a changed foot.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
28 December 2022 Wednesday 00:36
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Espanyol, between the derby and the market

Espanyol will arrive at the Camp Nou derby with a changed foot. Both the institutional and sporting stability of the club are in question after a very turbulent 2022 and the entity is working to reverse both aspects. In the first, the sale rumors are denied week in, week out, but the promised leap forward in terms of ambition last June has not occurred, which generates all kinds of suspicions. In sports, the club is now trying to correct very poor planning without the investment being similar to that of 2020, in which despite spending 40 million the team irremediably went to Second.

Tension exists in all levels of the club before the derby. A loss would extend the team's winless streak to six games, just one point behind relegation. In addition, the precedents are not rosy at all, Barça have won the last fourteen derbies at the Camp Nou, although there is no doubt about the squad's ability to compete against their eternal rival.

The summer transfer window was frustrating for both the coach and the blue and white parish, because in the face of the promises of the end of the season, the club offered few new faces with specific weight and gave the letter of freedom to many important names. Chen Yancheng recently acknowledged that the task was not complete, but he boasted that he had changed the dynamic. However, the illusion that the arrival of Martínez supposed has already been amortized, and the results have returned the negativity to the fans.

The last time Espanyol did not do their homework properly in the summer, they had to make the most powerful investment in their history. 40 million was spent to bring De Tomás, Embarba and Cabrera, the first two already out of the club after leaving through the back door. On this occasion the staff deficits are similar, but the investment will not be as powerful. The club seeks to be self-sufficient and grow progressively, even if this entails a restrained transfer policy.

For now, a goalkeeper is being sought after verifying that the departure of Diego López was a serious mistake. Álvaro Fernández and Lecomte have not been up to the task and Fernando Pacheco is the last name to sound. He is also concerned about the situation on the right side, a position in which he has gone from being overbooked two seasons ago to only being able to count on Óscar Gil, since Aleix Vidal and Rubén Sánchez have almost always acted as wingers.

Lazo's lack of adaptation also forces the club to look for a winger who can start in that area. Luis Rioja (Alavés) continues to be the priority after his frustrated signing in September. And to all this is added the loss due to injury of the Albanian Keidi Bare, who leaves a significant void in a midfield with only four troops (Vinicius Souza, Pol Lozano, Darder and Expósito), given the tough calendar at the beginning of the year. The Dutch midfielder from Nice Pablo Rosario is one of the options that Domingo Catoira manages for that position.

Meanwhile, the situation of Adrià Pedrosa, a candidate to leave the club through a sale during several markets, and who, after not renewing, could sign for another club as of January 1, is kicking in. This would mean, as happened with De Tomás, decapitalizing the club without an equivalent return. The sports management has not managed to convince him to lower his claims and Betis and Rayo Vallecano follow in his footsteps.

Faced with so many unknowns, the derby poses a great threat, but also an opportunity. Waiting for reinforcements, apart from César Montes, the team must show its face at the beginning of the year to prevent nerves from being the masters of their destiny at a very delicate moment of the course.