The season hasn't started yet, but in Granada there's already a tense atmosphere, as more than just points are at stake: the future is at stake. After an inconsistent season in the Segunda División, the Nazarí club needs more than motivation to face the new campaign. They need goals, energy, and certainties.
The sporting management has drawn up a clear roadmap: strengthen the team with young talent that's already seasoned in the division, footballers who are hungry and have enough experience to lead a locker room with more doubts than certainties. While the goalkeeper drama between Diego Mariño and Luca Zidane is being solved, the club is already focusing on the attacking front.
The striker shaking up the Nazarí offices
Among the names strongly rumored at Nuevo Los Cármenes, there's one that's managed to take center stage. This is a striker who, after a great season on loan at a mid-table club, has attracted the interest of several teams from both the Primera and Segunda División.
Coach Pacheta, who has already approved the move, is urgently looking for this kind of profile. A center forward capable of finishing crosses and attacking spaces, but also humble enough to adapt to the tough conditions of the division. This footballer meets all those requirements.
The competition won't be easy
However, not everything is good news for Granada. The footballer in question belongs to a Primera División club that hasn't yet decided whether they'll loan him out or keep him for next season. In fact, he'll do preseason with the first team, and his performance during those weeks could be key in determining his immediate future.
In addition, there are other Primera teams that've also shown interest in acquiring his services. This complicates the negotiation, since the Basque club is clear that if they loan him out, it'll be to a team where he can keep growing, but also where his value won't decrease.
Pacheta, between risk and necessity
Pacheta knows there's no room for error. In a division as evenly matched as the Segunda, a successful signing in attack can make the difference between promotion and oblivion. This striker not only brings goals, but also character. He's coming off a season in which he scored a dozen goals and provided several assists.
Granada needs to recover the identity that once allowed them to dream of Europe not so long ago. To do so, they need leaders in every line of the field. Although the spotlight is on the goalkeeper debate, where Luca Zidane has the edge despite his inconsistency, the truth is that without goals, no project can survive.
An opportunity that can't slip away
With the departures in the forward line already finalized, the club must move quickly. The footballer has already been informed of Granada's interest, and the deal could be closed in the coming weeks if a direct rival doesn't interfere. The plan is clear: secure a loan with a purchase option.
Everything suggests Granada will make the effort. But they'll also have to convince the footballer's entourage and his club, which won't let him go for free. Because when a striker scores 12 goals in the Segunda and is only 25 years old, he's not easy to find... or to keep.
That striker, that name everyone in Granada is talking about right now, is none other than Urko Izeta.