The Espanyol accelerates to continue strengthening the team for next season

The Espanyol is accelerating to continue strengthening the team for the next season, after the sale of Cristhian Stuani has been confirmed in the last two weeks and Kiko Casilla already has one foot and a half in Real Madrid. Today, the sports management is looking for four players: a goalkeeper, a center back, and two attackers, who can fill the vacant positions.

Goalkeeper position

For the goalkeeper position, there are three candidates. The final choice will depend on the money that the blanquiazul entity can or wants to allocate. Memo Ochoa from Málaga is one of the options, as well as Andrés Fernández, goalkeeper of Porto. The Murcian is negotiating his contract with Granada, a team that is ahead of Espanyol. According to AS, a new option for the goalkeeping position has emerged. It is Francesco Bardi, Inter de Milán's goalkeeper and Under-21 international, who has played on loan at Chievo Verona in the last two seasons. He is a goalkeeper with impressive potential, called to be the goalkeeper of the future in his country and eager to have a full season as a starter to consolidate himself as a professional goalkeeper.

The central position

Once Casilla's departure is official, the club will start looking for a replacement. Although they trust Pau López, the objective is to bring in a quality goalkeeper who can be the starter and increase the competition level between them.

The central position is the first one to reinforce. Several names have come up, and now Enzo Roco, a 22-year-old defender from Elche, who played 32 games last season and was one of the key players in avoiding relegation, is also on the list. Espanyol would have to pay a fee for Roco, but they could negotiate because of Elche's delicate situation.

Other names such as Zé Castro or Marc Valiente have also emerged as potential central defenders for Espanyol, but they are not a priority for the technical staff. Roco is currently the most desirable choice for the Pericos.

The attack

But the highlight for Espanyol is the attack. In this case, the club is considering three names. The most desired one is Jonathas, Elche's top scorer. Espanyol hopes to acquire 50% of his pass, the same formula they used to sign Felipe Caicedo, to enjoy the player and potentially profit from a future sale. This formula could also convince the investor group that owns part of his rights.

Patience is needed with Jonathas, just like with Marco Asensio. The Real Madrid midfielder, an 18-year-old gem, will do the preseason with the white club in order to convince Rafa Benítez. However, even if he succeeds, Real Madrid's priority is to loan him to another club so that he can get playing time and competition rhythm in La Liga. Considering that Espanyol has made two sales to Real Madrid this summer (Lucas and the future transfer of Casilla), the blanquiazul team has a priority option on the former Mallorca striker, although nothing will be known until August. Gerard Moreno is the third candidate and is also in consideration. Espanyol would have to invest in the latter player.