Villarreal sign El Tri regular Miguel Layún

Villarreal have been linked with a number of players this summer, but our latest signing is another ‘stealth move’—Miguel Layun, Mexican international, is joining the Yellow Submarine on a three-year deal.

Layun, 30, can play on either flank and also has seen some action in midfield. He joined FC Porto from Watford in the summer of 2016, was loaned to Sevilla in late January but they decided not to make his move permanent.

Word is we are paying Porto €4m for his services. He’s basically a replacement for Antonio Rukavina, then, but offers even more versatility than Ruka as a player who can play various midfieldpositions. If Javi Calleja is indeed planning to use various formations, even within matches, Layún is a nice player to have on your squad.

Layún had two goals in eleven appearances for Sevilla; like Ruka, Whoscored shows him as an excellent crosser of the ball and a player who likes to get forward from the fullback position; he’s not a tackler.

He played for Mexico in the current World Cup; while he may best be remembered for his touch on Neymar’s leg that resulted in ridiculous histrionics from the Brazilian, he had an excellent World Cup. As Conor Fleming wrote here, he couldn’t convert his opportunities to score, but he provided others with opportunities they converted.

It’s great to see another Mexican international join us, after the dos Santos brothers and Aquino. (Some of you might remember the late Antonio de Nigris, Mexican international striker who spent a year with us in 2003; I believe he was the first player from El Tri to join us).

Welcome, Miguel!!!