Bryan Zaragoza is already a new Espanyol player: will he be Monchi's big signing?

RCD Espanyol

 The signing is the real big splash of Monchi in his first transfer window as sports director of the RCD Espanyol, and it strengthens the Perico attack significantly.

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Bryan Zaragoza
4.520.000€+420.000€ ?

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Bryan Zaragoza is officially a new Espanyol player and lands in Cornellà ready to get back to his best version. 

The Malaga-born winger arrives on loan from the Bayern of Múnich, with a purchase option of 8 million euros, and becomes one of Monchi's big bets to raise the team's attacking level.

And if there is one word that defines Bryan Zaragoza, it is dribbling.

The winger is a street footballer, bold, direct, and with an extraordinary ability to beat opponents one-on-one.

He himself has explained on numerous occasions that he plays thinking about dribbling, and his numbers back up that claim.

With the Celta, he tried 77 dribbles in just under half a season, completing 27, while with Osasuna he made 136 attempts and managed to beat his opponent 57 times.

The Espanyol needed precisely a player capable of generating points through individual actions, even in matches where the team struggles to dominate. 

Zaragoza can produce dribbles, chances created, assists, and attacking actions without needing to score to put in a standout performance.

A player with plenty to prove

Career

He was formed at Granada, broke out in La Liga in the 2023/24 season with 6 goals in 21 matches, which took him to the Bayern of Múnich.  After that, he went through Osasuna, Celta and Roma in different loan spells.

Now he arrives at Espanyol at 24 years old, with a special motivation.

His first words as a Perico make his situation pretty clear:

"I made a big effort to be here, this is where I want to be”. “I come here to try to enjoy myself again”

That last message could be especially important.

Zaragoza needs continuity, trust, and to feel like the main character. And the Espanyol can offer him exactly that kind of scenario.

Fantasy recommendation

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It seems clear that if everything goes the way we think, he will be clearly worth it. His biggest appeal is that he does not depend exclusively on goals.

A winger with that kind of dribbling volume has the ability to generate points consistently through breakthroughs, chances created and assists.

Also, he arrives to have a leading role in an attack that precisely needed a game-changing player in the one-on-one.

The competition with Tyrhys Dolan, Calatrava and Javi Hernández exists, but Zaragoza's profile is too specific to think he is just coming to fill out the squad.

His Fantasy ceiling is high.

If he manages to become a regular starter and recovers the confidence he showed at Granada and in some stretches of his later loan spells, he could become one of the most important Perico players.