Villarreal Tidbits, March 21

Ex-Villarreal cantera man, now Depor striker, Florin Andone, had some pretty harsh words about Villarreal in an interview with EL PAIS. He was asked about Villarreal’s cantera, and said: “It is a very good school, demanding, but at the same time it is almost impossible to reach the first team. Sure, Bruno, Mario or Trigueros has done, but in the last years? They have incredible talent and no one makes it. It's a lie.... They sign the best kids and then they cancel each other out. I was not the best, but there were great players.... And where are they now? Gerard Moreno, a spectacular player, they got rid of him; Pablo Iniguez went to Rayo; Cámara is in Girona; Borja Iglesias, who continues to shine at Celta B, scores thirty-something (goals) with the youth, is promoted to Villarreal C and does not play. How do you explain that? It’s a joke. I had bad experiences with people who closed doors to me. While there are players from South America who at 17 play all the time...”

WOW, no criticism there. What do you think? (I should note the interview was all about Andone being stereotyped because of his Romanian background and the like; you can read it here).

Okay, now to rumors. We are supposedly interested in Kiko Feminia, currently playing at Alavés; Nico Castillo, a striker currently playing in Mexico for Pumas; and a number of sources have reported we are scouting Ajax’s young keeper André Onana as a backup for Sergio Asenjo assuming he recovers from his latest injury.

Meanwhile, since AC Milan seems to be in perpetual “yes, we’re going to be sold, REALLY! We’re going to be sold! BELIEVE US!” mode, Chelsea seem to be interested in Mateo Musacchio (warning: it’s the Mirror speaking).

Enjoy the day. First team returns to training tomorrow.