Football Season Guide

Last season they finished 13th. Only a late flurry of positive results spared them an uncomfortable relegation battle. European football may be little more than a pipe dream for them nowadays but they need to aim for a more comfortable mid-table finish this time around. This will be the first full campaign in charge for Claudio Giráldez González. Appointed in March 2024 as a replacement for Rafa Benitez, the Galician native is no stranger to the club, having spent just shy of ten years at Celta Vigo, managing their youth, C, and B teams respectively. In pre-season friendlies, he's predominantly deployed either a 3-4-3 or a 4-3-3 formation, which is likely to be their approach for the upcoming campaign. The departure of key striker Strand Larsen is arguably the biggest obstacle for Claudio Giráldez González to overcome. Iago Aspas isn't getting any younger, and the likes of Bamba and Douvikas are generally not clinical enough by nature (despite the Greek doing well last season) - and nor is returning loanee Paciência (if he even stays at the club, which looks increasingly unlikely). Iglesias has joined on loan to try and plug the gap but it's an optimistic approach at best. Douvikas likely to stay ahead of him. Alongside Paciência, defender Vazquez is the only other player likely to leave - neither has been involved in pre-season friendlies as of yet. The only noteworthy personnel to not feature has been goalkeeper Guaita, who has a shoulder injury. They'll sorely miss him whilst out. In addition to the aforementioned Iglesias, they've also pulled off a somewhat big coup with Moriba joining on loan from RB Leipzig. He burst onto the scene at Barcelona before heading to Germany somewhat prematurely. Although his career has somewhat stagnated since then, it's believed that he could breathe life into Celta's midfield and, as a loan signing, it's a risk-free endeavour. Their defence looks solid enough, although they are lacking in genuine left wing-back options. Goal-scoring is the main thing that they need to sort out though. If they can do that, they'll have a relatively pain-free season. If not, they're in trouble.