Braulio Vázquez faces unusual January rebuild at Valencia | OneFootball

Braulio Vázquez is preparing a January window to address Valencia CF’s squad gaps, an unusual shift for an executive who typically does most of his business in summer and uses winter only for tweaks.

According to Superdeporte, Ron Gourlay’s incomplete work left significant holes in the squad, injuries have compounded them, and the previous regime paid with their jobs. The new sporting director is now targeting January improvements.

His track record shows winter has largely been ancillary, more about shoring up or covering injuries than fixing structural issues.

At Osasuna he made no signings in four of nine winter windows, and when he did he favoured loans over permanent deals. In his most recent January he added Raúl Moro and Javi Galán, possibly his busiest, after four successive windows without additions.

Earlier winter business at Osasuna focused on depth, with Manu Sánchez or Jonas Ramalho in 2020-21, José Arnaiz, Toni Lato and Enric Gallego in 2019-20, Róber Ibañez in 2017-18 and 2018-19, and Borja Lasso in 2017-18.

At Valencia CF he also kept January quiet, with only two signings in four windows. He brought in Chori Domínguez in 2009-10, then in 2010-11 secured Jonas Gonçalves, among the club’s best signings of the past 15 years and later a prolific scorer.

Source: Superdeporte

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