Football Season Guide

Espanyol's new Chinese owners famously stated that they want Champions League football by 2019 when they took over last year and there were some very positives steps forward in 2016/17, with the Catalan team finishing the year in 8th, one spot away from Europa League qualification. That was viewed as a move in the right direction and there was some quiet optimism at the end of the campaign that Espanyol could move even higher up the table in 2017/18. This summer, however, will have caused some fans to revise and downgrade their expectations. The owners have hardly invested in the squad and Espanyol have lost more talent than they've gained. While it’s true that money was forked out to make the loan deals of Diego Lopez and Pablo Piatti – two of the best performers last season – permanent, the only new arrivals are those of Real Madrid youth team centre-back Mario Hermoso, ageing Real Sociedad midfielder Esteban Granero and even older former captain Sergio Garcia – who returns after two years in Qatar. Coach, Quique Sanchez Flores, is reportedly frustrated by the lack of transfer market action especially as Hermoso could be his only natural centre-back at the start of the season due to injuries. For a team that was built on a tough-to-break-down defence in 2016/17, this could be a significant blow. Sanchez Flores can, however, take some comfort from the promising signs he saw from the Espanyol youth graduates who he promoted to the senior squad towards the end of last season, like full-backs Marc Navarro and Aaron Caricol. The Catalan club have had one of the best academies in the country for several years now and the fruits of this investment in youth are starting to show. The coach would, of course, like the young talent to supplement a strong squad but it seems that he may have to trust these youngsters right from the off.