Espanyol is left alone

“Of the expense that other (clubs) have made, we think that many have jumped into the pool“It was the reflection that José María Durán, CEO of Espanyol, offered on June 15 when asked about the blocking of the entity in terms of transfers compared to the rest of the teams. If there is such a pool, a month later it is much more full – it is not known if with water, but surely with users – while Espanyol remains outside, almost insolation, and now alone, no matter how much it continues to move in the market.

After movements such as the recent incorporation of goalkeeper Mathew Ryan in Real Sociedad, Espanyol has become the only First and Second team that does not present a single new face in this season 2021-22. He did execute the purchase options for Nany Dimata, Miguelón Llambrich and Álvaro Vadillo, but all three had come from playing last season as Blue and Whites. The parakeet club, with Chen Yansheng at the helm, is firmly embracing LaLiga's salary control, which shows that it is still about three million euros to adjust its limit. That is, you need to run Departures. But these do not come – because of the high salaries of players like Matías Vargas or Vadillo himself, or because of the refusal in some cases to leave – and the fish bites its tail.

One of the factors why Espanyol does not advance task is because last season saw the wolf's ears with Keidi Bare, who he signed even though the salary limit was overflowed and who was on the verge of not being able to register, if it were not for the sale of Marc Roca to Bayern Munich three days after the market closes. That suffering marked and it is tried to avoid, even though the market advances and some of the opportunities carved out by the sports management may be fading.

The blocking situation at Espanyol draws even more attention when compared to that of its neighbor, the almighty Barcelona, even when your financial situation near bankruptcy and his need to reduce salaries by around 200 million to retain Lionel Messi has faced renowned signings such as Sergio Agüero or Memphis Depay. Or the contrast with the others newly promoted: the Vallecano Ray has been done with Ivan Balliu, from Almería, or Sergio Moreno, from the Mirandés, while the Majorca has caught Ángel Rodríguez, Jaume Costa or the expert Pablo Maffeo. And this has not prevented them from taking ownership of Fran García and Amath Ndiaye, respectively.

Even in the Second Division all teams present additions. It is true that Girona only appears as a new face that of its coach, Míchel Sánchez, but it is that to Real Zaragoza, immersed in a process as deep as a change of ownership that generates total uncertainty, has been able in recent days to close the incorporation of Fran Gámez.

In the absence of departures, which from the club promised for last week, the only springboard that opens against Espanyol to be able to jump into the pool of signings – even to register the entire current squad – before the end of the summer and is deserted are the subscribers and sponsorships. The first is going at a good pace, with the aim of reaching the 30,000. And in the matter of sponsors try to close the club to Riviera Maya and another one. Between this income and the vital capital increase of 37.8 million approved by Chen Yansheng in June, the reinforcements in the month and a half that remain in the market will come closer. Because this is not how it begins, but how it ends.