With La Liga losing to Elche and the Copa del Rey eliminated by Mallorca, the in-poor Spaniard desperately needs a "shot in the arm" to boost morale, and the best "shot in the arm" is a new signing. In the early morning of Beijing time on the 18th, Espanyol officially announced that it reached an agreement with the Russian Super League team Klasnodar Club to loan the Dutch player Villena for half a season, and after the loan ended, the Spaniard also had a buyout option.
Virenna, 27, from the youth training of the famous Feyenoord in the Dutch League, played in the main team at the age of 15. During his time at Feyenoord, Virena won the Dutch First Division, 2 Dutch Super Cups, 2 Dutch Cups and was selected for the Dutch national team for his outstanding performances at the club. It is worth mentioning that Villene also scored a goal in the first game of the Europa League group stage in the 16/17 season to beat the Premier League giants Manchester United.
In the summer of 2019, Villena joined Russian Premier League team Krasnodar for 9 million euros. But in the Russian Premier League, Vilena did not adapt well and did not show his outstanding performance in the Dutch First Division.
Played for 2 and a half seasons, contributing 4 goals and 2 assists in the first season, 3 goals and 3 assists in the 2nd season, and only made 14 appearances in the half of the season, contributing 2 goals and 1 assist. It can be seen that Velena has not met the expectations of Krasnodar Club, so it is no longer the absolute main force of the team. It is because of this that he has the opportunity to join Espanyol.
In terms of personal data, the highlight of Wilena's career was undoubtedly in the 17/18 season, when he made 44 appearances for Feyenoord, contributing 13 goals and 6 assists. Throughout his club career, he made 336 appearances and contributed 50 goals. It can be seen that as a midfielder, Villena's offensive data is still remarkable. Therefore, the arrival of Villene is bound to trigger a new round of competition in the Spaniard midfield.
It has to be mentioned that at present, the Spanish positioning of Chinese player Wu Lei is also more of a midfield wing, and this is exactly where Villena is good at. In addition, at present, in the German transit market, Villena is worth as much as 7.5 million euros, second only to De Thomas with 15 million euros and Pedrosa with 8 million euros, so as the third value in the team, the Dutchman is bound to enter the team rotation after joining Espanyol, and even become the main force. This is not a good thing for Wu Lei.
There is no place in the midfield, so what about in the front? Wu Lei has no place to stand. De Thomas is in the limelight, being selected for the Espanyol national team in good shape, followed by Di Mata, Morón, Puado and even the youngster Carreras. Therefore, with the arrival of Villena, Wu Lei will be in a desperate situation in Espanyol, and the opportunity to play on contract in the future may become more and more difficult.