La Liga midfielder joins Villarreal in blow to former club

Santi Comesaña has officially joined Villarreal from Rayo Vallecano, where he had previously spent the entirety of his Villarreal career. He joins Denis Suarez as confirmed new additions for the summer. Four of the 25 year old midfielder’s seven seasons with the Vallecas club were in the second division.

Comesaña is not an outstanding midfielder by any measurable metric, but there are a few things he does well that make his profile useful. He wins a high percentage of his tackle attempts and is very active in disrupting opposition play, and he carries the ball forward reasonably well on the dribble. He particularly does this when he is moving into the final third, allowing him to generate more than three shot creating actions per 90 minutes, mostly on live passes.

Rayo, meanwhile, is dealing with the loss of several key players in addition to having a new manager coming in. After a strong 11th place finish in La Liga last season they may find it hard to repeat the performance.

Overall, this is a solid signing. I like his age profile and this is a player who knows his way around La Liga. I do not think he raises the ceiling for Villarreal too terribly much but he is a reliable option in midfield and his age profile is such that his contract (to 2028) should carry him straight through the prime of his career.

With rumors of more high profile outgoings, hopefully Villarreal has several more acquisitions coming in the transfer window, but so far things are off to a very stable start.