This summer window is not going to be remembered fondly in Oviedo.
This season was supposed to be a non-stop celebration for Real Oviedo. In June, Veljko Paunović’s side beat CD Mirandés 3-2 on aggregate to clinch promotion to the top flight. It marked Oviedo’s first appearance in the top flight since 2001, and, with funds available and a strong core led by Santi Cazorla, the future looked bright. Instead, it’s been a disaster.
Oviedo made thirteen signings this summer, leaning heavily on experience to try to stay in the top flight. Three of them — Salomón Rondón, Brandon Dominguès, and Josip Brekalo — are no longer at the club. Two more — Álex Forés and Luka Ilic — were being shopped out all window, if reports are to be believed. One, backup goalkeeper Horațiu Moldovan, has not played a single minute this season.
That leaves seven (active) players signed in the summer who Real Oviedo planned to keep around the team in January. Included in those seven are Ovie Ejaria, who has not started a match since October, and Eric Bailly, who has played just five games.
With a solid squad that helped earn promotion, Real Oviedo could have played it relatively safe in the transfer window. Newly-promoted Elche, for example, are currently 13th thanks to loans from top sides and players with La Liga experience.
Oviedo chose to go a different route. Instead, the Asturian side made multiple high-risk, high-reward moves that have not panned out.
Consider Serbian midfielder Luka Ilić. Manager Veljko Paunović knew countryman Ilić had the quality to be a key player for the Asturians. At a reported €2M fee, the attacking midfielder was the most expensive signing of the summer, but looked to have a big role as he started Oviedo’s first five games. Then, Paunović was sacked. Ilić hasn’t started a game since October.
Rondón, Bailly, Brekalo, and Leander Dendoncker were all signings made with hopes they would return to their previous levels. Dendoncker is the only one who has somewhat panned out, and even he played just 26 minutes over the past five La Liga games.
Brekalo was ineffective in attack as he failed to record a single goal contribution in La Liga. On deadline day, he moved back to Germany, as he joined 2. Bundesliga side Hertha BSC.
Rondón set the tone for his time in La Liga with a missed penalty on opening day in a 2-0 loss to Villarreal. He was a hard worker and a physical presence, but the 36-year-old simply isn’t the same player he used to be. Rondón scored just two goals in 16 games before his loan was terminated and he returned to Liga MX.
Eric Bailly’s season has been the story of his career. He’s put in some solid performances this season, but has struggled with availability. Oviedo have had three different managers this season, but none of them have been able to play Bailly for more than two matches.
Even when he is healthy, the Ivorian sits behind David Carmo — a successful summer signing on loan from Nottingham Forest — and David Costas in the pecking order.
With Guillermo Almada now in control and the club spiralling toward relegation, Oviedo scrambled to right their wrongs this January.
Many high-profile striker links were reported, but in the end, Uruguay international Thiago Borbas joined on loan from RB Bragantino as Rondón was cast aside. Borbas’ minutes have been limited so far, with countryman Federico Viñas staying as the club’s lead striker. Viñas has as many goals (three) as red cards and leads the club in both.
Borbas was not the only attacking addition. Thiago Fernández, signed from Vélez by Villarreal and promptly shipped out on loan, was signed to add quality on the wings that the club desperately needed.
He needed ten minutes on his debut to better the G/A of the outgoing Brekalo and Dominguès, combined. His pass across the face of the goal found Ilyas Chaira — whose loan was made permanent in the summer, ironically from Girona — for the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Girona. Oviedo had not won since September.
Meanwhile, in search of the midfield presence that Dendoncker hasn’t quite provided, Oviedo went back to old reliable — Liga MX.
You wouldn’t guess that Real Oviedo are owned by Grupo Pachuca, an ownership group that has control of Mexican sides Club León and Club Pachuca, would you? Not as if most of Oviedo’s solutions — Rondón, Viñas, Santiago Colombatto, Nicolás Fonseca, Almada, and many, many signings from the Segunda years — joined because of their Liga MX connections.
Anyways, Uruguay international Nicolás Fonseca was the midfield addition, joining from Club León on loan. He’s been limited to the bench so far, although he appears to have jumped Dendoncker in the pecking order already.
Not every signing Real Oviedo made in the summer has been completely awful. Chaira has been a plus, as has Carmo and midfielder Alberto Reina. Full-back Javi López, too, is finally showing flashes after being quiet for most of the season.
But Real Oviedo are in a real bad spot right now. They currently sit last in La Liga and are seven points from safety. If they manage to stay up, it will be largely down to a man they had in the Segunda last year, goalkeeper Aarón Escandell.
The summer transfer window didn’t just waste money; it wasted time. Instead of focusing on strengthening the side and plugging a few remaining holes, Oviedo had to rebuild midseason. In total, there were three signings in January, and seven exits — three of whom had only joined in the summer.
This season is not completely over yet. However, regardless of safety, Real Oviedo need to get their act together in the transfer window. The club just do not quite seem to know what they want. They brought in experienced but struggling veterans, solid Liga MX players, players from undervalued leagues in Eastern Europe — Dominguès joined from Hungary, Ilić from Serbia — and loanees from top La Liga clubs.
The result is that the club hasn’t really gelled, and many players look completely out of their depth. Teams like Oviedo that don’t have the same resources or pull that top clubs have need to be smarter in the market. The Asturians were anything but smart this summer, and it has come back to bite them in a big way.
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Image via realoviedo.es.
