Espanyol jettisoned two goalkeepers this summer in Oier Olazabal and the experienced Diego Lopez, meaning they were inevitably on the hunt for new number one. Youth goalkeeper Joan Garcia will likely occupy the backup role.
On Wednesday Espanyol announced that they had reached an agreement with AS Monaco for the loan of Benjamin Lecomte for the 2022/23 season. Spending last year on loan at Atletico Madrid, Lecomte didn’t make a single appearance for Los Colchoneros, but will be hoping to hold down the starting spot at the RCDE Stadium.
🧤 ¡Que sí! ¡Que tenemos nuevo portero!
📞 @sguasch & @Guaschcope pic.twitter.com/EN1LAXX7HU— RCD Espanyol de Barcelona (@RCDEspanyol) July 13, 2022
It was the second announcement of the day for Espanyol, who earlier on confirmed they would had exercised their buy option on Dutch midfielder Tonny Vilhena, who leaves Krasnodar permanently. Mundo Deportivo say the buy option was set at €2.5m and he signs until 2026. There was an option for Vilhena to leave Krasnodar for free due to the the FIFA ruling on Russian clubs, but Los Pericos did not want to risk legal battles down the line.
Vilhena played 17 matches for Espanyol on loan last season, after joining in January. Without setting the world alight, he did enough to be a fixture in the first team.
These additions take the number of signings to five for new manager Diego Martinez, as he continues his rebuild of the squad. There is little doubt that Espanyol are searching for a revolution this summer.
