Athletic’s left-back puzzle persists as Terzic turns to Johaneko | OneFootball

Athletic are still searching for balance at left-back, despite Yuri Berchiche’s undisputed status. As reported by as.com, the club have shuffled options for years without landing a lasting solution.

Promising left-sided players have come and gone. Andoni López, 30, debuted against Girona and is now at Andorra. Imanol García de Albéniz, born in 2000, was hampered by injuries and is currently at Eibar after spells with Lugo, Sparta de Praga and Andorra, while Raúl Chasco, from the 2003 crop, later featured for Valladolid and Osasuna.

Late in this summer window, Athletic loaned Adama Boiro to West Ham with an option to buy. Athletic had paid 2 million to Osasuna for him in June 2024, with Sabadell and Casa Pía also interested, and captain of the reserves Miguel Barandalla left for UD Logroñés.

Unai Gómez has moved to Udinese in Italy, bringing in 4.5 million, and he could have covered the left channel as he did for the reserves before reaching the first team. Similarly, Berenguer dropped back against Sevilla, a switch Terzic revived by recalling his Torino days.

In the current plan, Terzic is placing faith in Johaneko, the surprise of pre-season, comfortable on both flanks and already blooded with a debut at Camp Nou and minutes against Atlético. In parallel, Sarasketa has returned from Eibar in a linked move that sent left winger Gift on loan to Ipurua, reinforcing Bilbao Athletic after Barandalla’s exit.

Source: as.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”