Villarreal CF

Foyth officially renewed until 2029. @soul24rage

They are also linked to Dovbyk. Don't know why Roma wants to offload him but would be a good signing for Villarreal.

Messi983 said:

Foyth officially renewed until 2029. @soul24rage

They are also linked to Dovbyk. Don't know why Roma wants to offload him but would be a good signing for Villarreal.

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Dovbyk hasn't looked right at Roma. Might be an adaptation phase or the various coaches changes that ocurred last season, but he was mentally not there.

Roma now has Ferguson and Dybala could potentially play at false 9 so not a bad idea if Dovbyk goes back to La Liga.

Villarreal gonna have one of those seasons.

Forego LaLiga and try and get that CL money.

Completely uninspiring signings and sales, after last years investments.

Problem with Spanish football these days. Bilbao and Villarreal will represent the country in CL and probably do worse than the French sides outside PSG.

Yeah, Moleiro is the only exciting signing so far. Been a big fan of his for years and looking forward to see him in a better club. That said he's clearly a downgrade from Baena.

They have some other interesting players too though. Still like Yeremy Pino who did well last season after returning from a serious injury and expect him to make another step forward this season. And our former boy Ilias is the one returning from torn ACL now.

But the one I'm looking forward to watch this season is Etta Eyong. Don't know which striker they'll bring (they are clearly in the market for one) but I think Eyong could be in for a breakthrough season.

As for the other signings Santiago Mourino did well at Alaves and we'll see if he can make step up to a better club. Same for Rafa Marin who didn't really make an impact at Napoli. They now have four (five including Pau Navarro though he'll likely play more RB) U24 CBs. Sadly Logan Costa is the next one to suffer a torn ACL (tbf they've been unlucky with longterm injuries) and won't play much if at all this season.

Big difference compared to last few seasons when they still had a 37/38 year old Albiol starting alongside other older players like Bailly or Mandi. Keeping Foyth around is clearly important and hopefully Cardona and Ayoze will stay too.

Partey is a controversial signing at this point obviously but he'll do a job if he won't go to jail.

Don't really understand the Buchanan signing, he didn't do much on loan in second half of last season. Marcelino probably likes his versatility. Would keep Danjuma (he signed for Valencia) personally but he has clearly fallen out of favor with Marcelino.

Linked to Soler and Asensio too. Parejo is 36 and will need a replacement (or at least someone to give him rest) so Soler wouldn't be the worst option. And Asensio would be upgrade over someone like Denis Suarez too. They are also looking to sign Argentinian LW Thiago Fernandez in December on a free.

And you never know with Villarreal, they can make some surprising signings that usually turn out well. And I think we'll see one or two of those before end of this month.

So while their (potential) signings are not looking exactly "sexy" I think they can still end up successful and improve overall depth of the team which they will need. Villarreal are still favorites to finish 4th imo. Maybe Betis will challenge them if they get Antony back but Isco is now out for around 3 months again which will surely be a big blow for them. Bilbao already have a lot of injuries and also Yeray out suspended.

Unless a team with no European football like Sociedad or Girona will have a good season but it's not like those teams had exactly great TWs either. Especially Sociedad who lost Zubimendi and only brought Guedes and Caleta-Car so far so if I would have to say the team with the most underwhelming TW so far it would probably be them. Maybe a new coach will bring some fresh ideas and have positive impact like Claudio Giraldez at Celta last year (mentioning him I expect Celta to struggle this season playing in Europe and even more so Rayo) but otherwise don't see Sociedad as a serious top 4 and probably not even top 6 candidate.

Would like to see Valencia established as a top 6 team but not sure they are there yet though they did make some solid moves and despite losing Mosquera and Mamardashvili they are probably a better team. Biggest win for them is clearly keeping Javi Guerra.

If Roig doesn't secure a solid successor then Villarreal may fade when he steps down or passes. The project of their local rivals, Castellon, is much more advanced and their training centre will be second in Spain to only Barcelona (and probably Madrid, but fuck them).

It's been a great run little team, so let's see what happens when they finally have a competitor on their previous stranglehold on the regional youth supply chain, which by and large, has been their lifeline. Especially as the Premier League gambling clubs have completely decimated their other model of scouting the more obscure South American countries.