Villarreal ‘set to’ complete deal to secure return of former midfielder

Denis Suarez is to join Villarreal on a free transfer from Celta Vigo in June, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Spaniard could even move in January if Celta are willing to strike a deal to let him go now, and would provide additional creativity to the squad.

Suarez, 28, played for Villarreal during the 2015-16 season and was excellent, scoring five times and providing 12 assists in 48 appearances as the club finished fourth in La Liga and reached the Europa League semi-finals under Marcelino.

He has had relaitvely unsuccessful spells at Barcelona and Arsenal since, which also saw him briefly link up with Unai Emery in England, and eventually joined Celta in 2019.

The midfielder has provided five goals and 20 assists in 105 games for Celta, but had a public falling out with the club president in the summer and is now set to depart Balaidos.

If Villarreal manage to bring his signing forward to January, it could indicate that an attacking player is set to depart, with Arnaut Danjuma linked with Aston Villa, and Suarez could be the replacement.

A creative midfielder capable of playing both wide and in midfield, if he can return to the form which made him such a success in his first spell at Villarreal, then he can become a huge asset for Quique Setien.

Given that Setien is playing with a 4-3-3 formation, he could play on either wing or alongside Etienne Capoue and Dani Parejo in the midfield three, a role which was occupied by Alex Baena during the win over Valencia.

Whilst this could mean Baena gets less minutes, given that the two play in similar positions, both could play together, and Suarez could even be a good mentor for the youngster to learn from, given his experience in Spain and Europe.

Arriving on a free transfer, this could end up being really smart business from Villarreal if he can find his form, and represents a low risk, but potentially high reward deal.