Sevilla FC: Could A Busy Summer Lead To A Successful Season?

Sevilla have been one of the most active teams in the transfer market in La Liga this summer. Los Nervionenses, who enjoyed the return of Monchi as the club’s sporting director, have not wasted time looking to bolster the squad’s depth since the goal is to return to the UEFA Champions League for the 2020-21 campaign.

With that in mind, Sevilla have made several quality signings that should improve the squad considerably on both sides of the ball. And that is not counting some of the loaned players that will return to the side, such as Sergio Rico and Maxime Gonalons. Let’s take a look at what Sevilla have done during the transfer market so far.

The Arrivals, Part 1

It’s not a stretch to say that Sevilla have bolstered their depth enormously over the past few weeks. Monchi has signed several players on both sides of the ball, and some of the most interesting names could find themselves as starters once the Liga campaign begins around mid-August.

The defence should be far more improved with the arrivals of Sergio Reguilon, Maximilian Wöber, Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde. While Kounde and Wöber are two prospects that still need to adjust to play in LaLiga, that’s not the case with Diego Carlos. The Brazilian centre-back has plenty of experience since his Nantes days, and will strengthen a line that will also benefit from the arrival of Reguilon. The left-back joins Sevilla on a season-long deal from Real Madrid, and could very well become the team’s starting left-back sooner than later.

The Arrivals, Part 2

Sevilla also added two experienced holding midfielders in Nemanja Gudelj and Fernando, while Joan Jordan has been one of the most underrated players in La Liga over the past two seasons. Oliver Torres should also provide a huge creativity boost, while Lucas Ocampos will add pace and tactical versatility, since he can operate on both flanks with equal ease. Torres is expected to fill Pablo Sarabia’s void, while Ocampos should act as Quincy Promes’ replacement.

Last but not least, we have the strikers. Knowing Luis Muriel left the club to join Atalanta, Sevilla needed to bring new faces and they added two proven goalscorers in Luuk de Jong and Munas Dabbur. The Dutchman was the top scorer in the Eredivisie with 28 goals, while Dabbur registered 20 Bundesliga goals with Red Bull Salzburg in Austria’s top-flight last term.

The Departures

One could have thought Sevilla lost several players after signing more than 10 players, but the reality is that they have not had many exits this summer. The biggest one was the departure of star playmaker Sarabia, who signed with PSG, but the other players that left the Sanchez Pizjuan outfit were not household names at all.

The other departures were Aleix Vidal, Promes, Muriel and Gabriel Mercado. Muriel and Promes could have been serviceable, but de Jong, Dabbur and Ocampos could become solid replacements. Undoubtedly, Sevilla now look like a stronger side compared to last season’s squad. And this difference can be noticeable on both sides of the ball.

How would Sevilla’s starting XI look for the first competitive match of the 2019-20 season?

Considering the arrivals and departures, this is how Sevilla might start their 2019-20 Liga campaign away from home against Espanyol on August 18th:

Tomas Vaclik; Jesus Navas, Simon Kjaer, Jules Kounde (Diego Carlos), Sergio Reguilon; Ever Banega, Joan Jordan; Lucas Ocampos, Oliver Torres, Wissam Ben Yedder; Luuk de Jong.

By all accounts, a stronger XI than the one from last season. Now it’s time for Julen Lopetegui to make things work on the pitch. It remains to be seen if he will lead Sevilla to the UEFA Champions League, but there’s no question he has enough depth on the squad to do so.