Seeing there are some spots that could be filled I looked up the free agent pool on transfermarkt again.
Couple of interesting names from the ones that will never join (Benzema, Carvajal, Alaba), ones we want nothing to do with us (Martial, Sancho) and some potential ones:
Bissouma - 30 year old defensive midfield but Fofana makes this transfer unnecessary
Diogo Leite - 27 centre back but heavily linked to Lazio and the current Portuguese center back has left a bad taste in the mouth
Joselu - 36 year old veteran who can come in if Ure and Stassin keep firing blanks
Or the club could just hit up some old boys and get Jose Campana and Alex Pozo back in Sevilla colours.
This is very important. The spirit within the club this season is Sevilla’s rebirth and that means reactivating Nunca se Rinde, which began with the last couple of games in last season.
Glad that JIN has provided a decent squad for LGP.
How JIN pulled the Fofana operation is a head-scratcher…
We’re paying only 700k for the entire 2026-27 season for a 23M valued DM, and a regular starter for Milan until they decided he is better off somewhere else for a season as he doesn’t fit their “majestic” tactics anymore.
As a business manager/owner, I am extremely curious to know what was said during the negotiations, what was promised to Milan, to Fofana… beside the obvious that he’ll be an undisputed starter if he performs well.
Was it the club’s pedigree (as Fofana said)? Did JIN sell Fofana the future vision?
Would some some sneak peaks on that but as usual, we can only get those after a few years or even never… since it’s confidential at this point.
For me we have brought in players who want to play, and fight for the shirt.
The last couple of seasons it has felt like we have had a few passengers along for the ride who are only interested in themselves rather than the good of the team.
And then deadbeats like Nianzou who were happy to sit taking a pay check whilst constantly injured. Which is why for me the sooner we can shift Marcão now the better.
Our backline without Sangante still worries me slightly as Kike Salas and Castrin are both archetypal donkey Centre Backs… Can tackle, header and mark a man, but as soon as anyone with a serious bit of pace comes up against them, we are in trouble. They need someone with pace playing alongside them… Them being the CB pairing together is a disaster waiting to happen, in my opinion.
Centre back is a concern. We don’t have many reliable options. Would have been good to get another one in but can’t complain at our overall summer dealings.
We were fortunate to keep a clean sheet last night. Thought we looked vulnerable when Valencia were on the break and they nearly scored off the crossbar not long before we took the lead. Could have been a different result if that went in. Better teams will expose us though.
I also think we are one winger short. We are having to rely on Diaz a LB to sub in late as a winger. Not terrible if we have the lead, but not great if we are chasing.
I saw Alfon preparing to come in just as Iglesias scored and then LGP changed the plan so he remained on the bench.
Alfon had some good sparks when he played a bit for us last season but we definitely cannot count on him 100% for now.
Same goes with Vargas. The stats don’t lie… he is still trying to prove his worth to the Swiss NT and rarely features for the club during the season. He is good but often lacks commitment and is too injury prone.
I would ship both off in January and get a new winger, believing in JIN.
I think he was injured for a while and that kept him out of peak fitness. But it’s also that he didn’t show anything impressive with Villarreal and is just a leftover player which may or may not work, similar to Marcao etc.
and we’re serious Europe contenders, if all goes well.