Real Oviedo and Levante currently stand out as by far the most likely relegation candidates in LaLiga. However, just four points currently separate Getafe in 11th place and Rayo Vallecano in 18th. With Girona, Sevilla, Alaves, Elche, Mallorca, and Valencia sandwiched in between, an almighty scrap for survival is brewing.
The winter transfer window has just closed, and every club in the bottom half made at least one new signing. In such a tight race, the success or failure of those players could end up determining who stays up, and who drops down into the second tier.
There was evidence of that last season, when Espanyol’s ability to bring Roberto Fernandez and Urko Gonzalez de Zarate in on January loan deals helped kickstart their campaign. The Catalans ultimately survived on the final day.
Several eye-catching transfers and loans were completed in time for last week’s deadline. Here are some of the fresh faces who look most capable of making a big impact for their new clubs:
Ilias Akhomach (Rayo Vallecano)
Rayo Vallecano have looked strong on the flanks, but short up front for several seasons now. Given their long-standing failure to properly address that issue, it perhaps should come as little surprise that the Madrid-based club opted to sign two new wingers, but no forwards in this window.
As baffling as that approach may seem on the surface, the loan addition of wideman Ilias Akhomach could still prove a smart piece of business. It effectively confirms that Jorge de Frutos, a right winger by trade, will continue to operate as a number nine for the remainder of the campaign, where he’ll be hoping to add to his seven-goal return.
Akhomach had found himself down the pecking order at Villarreal since returning from a torn ACL. However, he’s still only 21 and showcased his ability as a talented dribbler in the 2023/24 season at the Ceramica. Despite limited opportunities, he registered two assists in the Champions League for the Yellow Submarine earlier this season, and could make a real impact in Vallecas if he can get back to his pre-injury level.
Guido Rodriguez (Valencia)
Valencia completed one of the biggest transfers in Spain in this window by sealing a €5m deal for Umar Sadiq. He should provide useful competition for Hugo Duro in attack, but it may be that the capture of Guido Rodriguez from West Ham ultimately proves the smarter piece of business.
Rodriguez follows in the footsteps of the likes of Pablo Fornals and Carlos Soler in having returned to LaLiga after relatively unsuccessful stints at the London Stadium. The 31-year-old only clocked up 177 minutes of Premier League football in the first half of this season, but he was a key figure at the base of the Real Betis midfield between 2020 and 2024.
Having been capped 30 times by Argentina, Rodriguez is a player of serious pedigree. At his best, he’s comfortably good enough to get into this Valencia side. His experience should come in handy if Los Che are still in a relegation battle come the final weeks of the campaign.
Martin Satriano & Luiz Vazquez (Getafe)
Heading into January, all the signs were that Getafe would end up being one of the main losers in this transfer window. Christantus Uche’s lack of game-time at Crystal Palace left them set to miss out on a €20m fee that they were expecting to receive when they loaned out the player to the English club last summer. That obligation-to-buy clause not looks certain not to be met.
However, the club have still found a way to finance five fresh loan additions. Most significantly, LaLiga’s joint-second lowest scorers have added two strikers in the shape of Martin Satriano and Luiz Vazquez.
That was essential business with Borja Mayoral and Juanmi currently sidelined. The new duo have been thrown straight into the team and have already made an impact, with Vazquez netting key goals against relegation rivals Girona and Alaves.
Neither player arrived with particularly prolific goalscoring records at their previous clubs, but both possess the height and physicality that should make them good fits for a Pepe Bordalas side.
Claudio Echeverri (Girona)
Girona’s relationship with “sister club” Manchester City has been the source of debate and controversy in Spain. The extent to which they rely on the Premier League outfit for players is sometimes overplayed, but they’ve certainly benefitted from it on this occasion, by signing €15m-rated Claudio Echeverri on loan from Pep Guardiola’s team.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder is a product of the River Plate youth system, and was regarded as one of the brightest young Argentine prospects, although he struggled for regular minutes on loan at Bayer Leverkusen in the first half of this season.
That should be less of an issue at Montilivi, where Echeverri will be expected to bring creativity, potentially from a wide role, rather than in his preferred position as a number 10.
It hasn’t been a great start for the youngster, whose error led to Sevilla’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw on Sunday. However, he’s a bright talent who should soon start to make positive contributions at the right end of the pitch.
Neal Maupay (Sevilla)
In one of the unexpected stories in the January window, Neal Maupay completed a loan move from Marseille to Sevilla, whose official X account had previously mocked the striker after a pre-season friendly between the clubs in August.
With all seemingly forgiven after some light-hearted exchanges on social media, Maupay has quickly been thrust into the more serious matter of a relegation battle. The French forward grabbed a debut goal, albeit in a 4-1 defeat against Mallorca, before playing the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw against Girona.
He looks set to partner Akor Adams up front for the Andalusians. Matias Almeyda will need both forwards to chip in with goals if his team is going to stay afloat.
Ugo Raghouber (Levante)
Five points from safety as it stands, Levante could have done with bringing in more than two players in January, particularly given expectations are relatively low when it comes to inexperienced Dutch winger Tay Abed, a €200k addition from PSV.
Ugo Raghouber did arrive with slightly more pedigree, after completing a loan switch from Lille. The midfielder has already made three starts in LaLiga, and he has immediately looked like an upgrade on most of the Valencia club’s existing options in the centre of the park.
While it’s only a small sample size as far as the 22-year-old is concerned, he currently ranks second in the Levante squad for both tackles per game (2.3) and interceptions per game (1.3). Raghouber’s presence should make the strugglers more competitive in midfield, although other weaknesses have not been fully addressed.
Gonzalo Villar (Elche)
Elche also opted to bulk up their midfield in the winter window, with the signing of Gonzalo Villar on loan. The 27-year-old is a homegrown talent who came through the Franjiverdes youth academy, and went on to represent the club in the Segunda Division between 2018 and 2020.
He also clocked up 47 appearances for Roma in the 2020/21 season, but his progress has stalled since then, with two separate loan spells at Getafe, followed by permanent moves to Granada and Dinamo Zagreb, who retain ownership of the versatile player for now.
There is an option to buy in this deal, which was in part sparked by the €16m sale of Rodrigo Mendoza to Atletico Madrid. That helped finance a flurry of late transfer activity at the Martinez Valero, with Lucas Cepeda, Abiel Osorio, Tete Morente, and Buba Sangare also joining Eder Sarabia’s team.
Thiago Fernandez (Real Oviedo)
After a poor first half of the season, there have been signs of life at Real Oviedo since the appointment of Guillermo Almada. However, the club still found themselves in the difficult position of approaching this window knowing that relegation would be the most likely outcome, regardless of their business.
In the end, the Asturians opted to deal in the loan market, with three new additions. The most exciting of those is perhaps Thiago Fernandez, a 21-year-old midfielder, who joined Villarreal on a free transfer from Velez Sarsfield in early January, before heading to the Carlos Tartiere on loan.
He arrived with a reputation as a creative, direct attacking player and it certainly didn’t take long for Thiago to make his mark. Ten minutes to be precise, with the youngster coming off the bench on debut to set up Ilyas Chaira for the only goal as Oviedo claimed just their third win of the season against Girona.
Mark is a freelance football writer based in Madrid, and the editor of LaLigaExpert.com. He has been covering LaLiga and European football since 2014.
