With a 30m sale of Larsen now likely and the 40m sale of Veiga last year, this transfer window should be fascinating. Now I haven't seen many transfer rumours (pls mention any you've seen).
I've liked the decisions Celta have made, Rafa Benitez failed but was a reasonable hire considering they wanted to shore up their defence and wanted a manager who'd help develop players, with his cv the hiring decision was a wise one. They then face him a lot of time (which they got a lot of flack for) but again the underlying numbers were good, celta were just underperforming which isn't a tactical issue. But once he was fired they didn't take any manager available but went with Giraldez from the B team which was another good decision, this time one that paid off.
Now the issues they had this season were mostly defensive, they simply leaked in far too many goals. Especially late in the game which I presume has been a conditioning issue which I hope is worked upon.
The two massive positives of having Giraldez have been the attacking style and the academy players being introduced.
Last seasons signings (summer signings only):
- Carles Peres: failed having played under a 1000 minutes despite coating over 5m.
- Manu Sanchez: a very smart free transfer which was ok ig, still expect him to improve as he's a decent player with good potential.
- Bamba: Quality player I was shocked went to Celta but has been predictably good, hopefully stays for a long time as he could be key post Aspas.
- Dotor: A valuable signing for little money who flirted with being a starter for a few games mid season. A midfielder who I always thought was best at popping into the box as a goalscoring mf at Castilla but wasn't ready for the top division. Obviously never could have replaced Veiga and Vigo should've gotten a starting level cm last year instead but dotor has potential and hopefully can have more of an impact next season.
- Starfelt: Another signing that just makes sense but didn't work out, I heard he might go back to Celtic which would be OK ig. Unavailability of the cbs was a massive issue all season.
- Douvikas: 13m on this guy. Don't think they should've done so. But he scored as much as Larsen in like half the minutes. Idk if he has what it takes to be a top flight striker but for the sake of celta I hope he does.
So onto the holes in the squad. I think this team needs a striker replacement, 2 starting centre backs and a starting midfielder. Unai Nunez is the only cb I trust and I'd rather play Oscar Mingueza as a full back/ wing back since I like his crossing.
So here are some realistic signings I'd like:
Alvaro Rodriguez: Going down the Dotor route and signing another Castilla product. Hes clearly ready for the top division and would be good competition for Douvikas. Likely joining Getafe.
Sergi roberto although unsure about this: Despite Hugo Sotelo doing well alongside Tapia (who should be a definite starter) I feel like a good cm is needed, although I'm not sure who. There's quite a few players in the squad who I hope step up and make a cm unnecessary. There's also Damian Rodriguez, as I said loads of cms and loads of academy players introduced. I'd like an experienced guy alongside all these young players.
Alejandro Frances: A center back I really like at Zaragoza who could play on the right.
Raillo: Mallorca's captain and cb. Probably unrealistic but what a signing that would be!
Pablo Ramon: if Frances is undoable. Another Castilla guy.
Nico Paz: not needed in the squad but a very talented who could potentially be a bargain signing and a decent market opportunity.
I wanna say about 20 games this season. All being league games. All 10 against Real, Atletico, Barca, Athletic and La real. Also both against las Palmas.
Yeah in attack it looked like Rafa hoped for individual brilliance, which I thought was reasonable to hope for with a good attacking trio. Although perhaps that was naive of me considering the structure of the team. Last season I thought the transition defense wasn't great and Rafa being the kinda guy to invite pressure to his defence would just mean fewer goals. The defense was terrible tho but I don't know whether to blame the players, the coach or the unavailability of a consistent starting trio. It seemed like one or two center backs were always our injured which is why I didn't wanna blame Rafa for it, although its perfectly reasonable to since he didn't respond well to his conditions.
Oh yeah not playing academy players was an issue I definetely had. That was just stupid of him.
Dotor made a a massive mistake in a game 2 games after that Villarreal game, can't remember what game it was. But around that time he looked promising. Having said at the point of signing I was shocked celta went for dotor as I didn't think he was ready for the first division. Hes a second division player without a doubt.
Bamba I wasn't as low on although maybe I'm just biased there since I like him. Or maybe I saw most of his better games.
Douvikas I thought was maybe more clinical than Larsen although I know he did well in the copa del rey where I didn't get an opportunity to watch him play. But he played under 1000 minutes in the league, which is why I kind of reserved judgement. Thats a limited sample size.
I like that Carlos is left footed and I'd have him be a starter if unai would play in the center. The reason I prefer unai was mostly bc I thought he was more proactive in defence which the team lacked.
Didn't know Tapia was leaving! Thats a shame.
I mean dotor was just not good enough, it wasn't an issue with Castilla but the individual not being ready. But I understand preferring to utilise the clubs academy first, that's the way I like it too. Although I don't think there's a striker ready for the first division there rn. Which Alvaro is.
Thanks for the great reply btw, I'd love to hear more from you. Especially your opinion on the defensive situation. Also which of the academy player Giraldez bought in this year do you think would make a major impact next year, apart from Hugo Sotelo and Hugo Alvarez. I thought Damian Rodriguez looked good. Javi Dominguez and Javi Rodriguez, not quite as sold on.