Football Season Guide

Club icon Jose Bordalas guided the team to a fairly comfortable mid-table finish in 2023/24, but has not hidden his frustration at the lack of urgency with the club’s transfer business this summer, with one friendly game being called off due to a lack of players. This season, matching the achievements of last will be a tougher ask. There was a heavy reliance upon Borja Mayoral for goals as he scored 15 of their 46 in total in LaLiga, and speculation persists that he could leave, while the supporting cast of options from the bench last year have also moved on. Defensively, retaining goalkeeper David Soria has been key, and he will play a big role in allowing Bordalas to deploy his conservative system which shuts teams down and denies them the chance to score. The loss of midfield general Nemanja Maksimovic will present an opportunity to Luis Milla to step up as the team’s leader in the middle of the park, and his creativity could be key to generating some kind of chance for the front line. There is no shortage of young talent coming through. The question will be whether the likes of Chrisantis Uche have the quality demanded to stay up if no further reinforcements are brought in.