Football Season Guide

Levante

In


Jorge de Frutos (mid) Real Madrid; Dani Gómez (att) Real Madrid; Mickaël Malsa (mid) Mirandes; Son (def) Ponferradina; Fran Manzanara (def) Ponferradina – end of loan; Pepelu (mid) Tondela – end of loan; Cheick Doukouré (mid) Huesca – end of loan; Antonio Luna (def) Rayo Vallecano – end of loan; Koke Vegas (gk) Deportivo La Coruna – end of loan

Out


Moses Simon (sp) (mid) Nantes; Bruno González (sp) (def) Real Valladolid; Iván López (sp) (def) Released; Borja Mayoral (sp) (att) Real Madrid – end of loan

Levante have a solid project and this was clear to see last season as they finished 12th. They’ve taken a step up from being a relegation-threatened side and have become more of a mid-table side. Given that things are going well, they haven’t changed much at all this summer. A few moves have been made, mostly with Levante bringing in players from lower divisions who they believe can add squad depth. But there was no need to rock this boat. They believe in coach Paco Lopez, who has been able to implement a slightly more conservative style to significantly improve the team’s defence last season. They remain threatening in attack, especially on the counter attack, and have become a very difficult team to play against. They’re also so solid in midfield with their various central midfielders. There aren’t many weaknesses at all in this Levante squad, but one area where there may be some concern is full-back as the players in this position are a lot older. They might not provide the youthful explosiveness from this position that other teams possess. All in all, though, Levante look to have a solid project. Off the pitch they’re growing too and are even redeveloping their stadium right now, which is why they’re not expected to play at their usual home ground until October.

Target


Mid-table finish. From the fifth matchday to the last matchday last season, Levante were never higher than ninth and never lower than 13th. They were the definition of mid-table and there’s no reason why they can’t repeat that this year.