The two Espanyol pearls that half of Europe will be fighting over this summer

BarcelonaEspanyol is beginning to see green shoots on the pitch and, therefore, also in the offices. The improved performance experienced this 2025 (three wins, four draws, and just one defeat) is largely explained by the solid performances of two youth-team gems who have earned not only a permanent place in Manolo González's starting eleven, but also an attractive market position. These are Joan Garcia and Omar el Hilali, who are proposed as the main candidates to be the big sale the club needs this summer to balance its books.

The club's budgeted transfer income for this season is 14.7 million euros, a figure from which the 1.5 million received for Joselu must be subtracted, and which will very likely be exceeded with the sale of either of the two aforementioned players. There's no shortage of suitors, especially in the Premier League, where many clubs would have little trouble assuming or coming close to meeting their buyout clauses. The Moroccan right-back's fee is 15 million, and the club is expected to seek out interested clubs this summer. At 21 years old and with a contract until 2027, El Hilali already has the third-most minutes in the Espanyol squad (2,236, behind only Joan and Král) and leads La Liga in terms of successful tackles resulting in ball recovery (63).

"Whether I'm protected or not, I have no intention of leaving. Whoever comes can come and I'll do everything possible to stay," the defender admitted a few months ago in an interview with ARA. As a youth and youth player, he turned down offers from Manchester United, Valencia, and Barça, who have expressed interest on more than one occasion. "There are very powerful clubs where it's hard to say no, but I wasn't thinking about the money, but rather about developing myself in the sporting field, so I'd have opportunities," he added. The full-back would consider it "a dream" to be Espanyol captain and wear Jarque's number 21. However, he acknowledges that if a club is willing to pay his release clause, "Espanyol and my agents are the ones who should evaluate what comes next."

More feasible in the short term seems the departure of Joan Garcia, who was already close to leaving for Arsenal last summer. Espanyol has stuck to the amount of his clause, of 30 million, a figure the London club refused to pay in the final days of the transfer window. However, the Sallent native's contract includes variables that modify the amount of the release clause. The figure, for example, increases in the last 15 days of each transfer window, but also if he is called up to the Spanish national team. Furthermore, a hypothetical relegation to the Second Division would reduce it to 15 million, a fairly affordable amount for many clubs.

Espanyol, aware that selling the goalkeeper would allow them to balance their budget and strengthen other positions, could agree to negotiate his exit this summer. "If an offer arrives in the last week of the transfer window, we will refer to the clause. But if the offer arrives on June 14th and is close in fixed and variable amounts, Espanyol won't say no. If a club comes with eight million, that's a bad sale," admitted Fran Garagarza, the club's sporting director. Meanwhile, the club is benefiting from the Sallent goalkeeper's saves, which have been earning points for some time now. In his first season as a starting goalkeeper in the First Division, he has made the most saves in the competition (96). He also has the sixth most saves in the top five European leagues despite having a game in hand.