Much of Villarreal’s struggles this season have been down to their poor defensive performances. Only Granada (40) and Almeria (42) have conceded more goals than the Yellow Submarine (35) in La Liga, and this is an area that Marcelino Garcia Toral will be desperate to address during the winter.
This is especially the case given that Matteo Gabbia is expected to return to AC Milan in January. That would leave Raul Albiol, Jorge Cuenca and Aissa Mandi as Villarreal’s only centre-back options for the second half of the season, where they will be fighting in La Liga and the Europa League.
To address their defensive woes, Diario AS say that Villarreal are keen on signing David Garcia from Osasuna. The 29-year-old is Marcelino’s top target, and a deal is expected to cost €10-15m, which would also include Johan Mojica’s loan deal being made permanent.
Villarreal want to do a deal in January, although they are prepared to wait until next summer if necessary. If the latter proves to be the case, they may decide to bring in another short-term option during the winter, as there’s no doubt that another centre-back is needed for the second half of the season.
