2023-10-01 17:19:59
Barcelona Espanyol, who this Monday host Ràcing de Ferrol (9 p.m. / LaLiga TV Hypermotion), have three months to avoid losing the most valuable sporting asset in their current squad for free. From January 1, 2024, Nico Melamed will be able to negotiate with any other club to join him as a free agent. This, as long as the white-and-blue club is not able to close earlier the renewal of his contract, which expires next summer. The talented midfielder, only 22 years old, is struggling between the honors offered to him by the club he loves and the siren songs of powerful First Division clubs, with more economic and sporting potential.
Negotiations with Espanyol, right now, are at a standstill after the player rejected the last white-and-blue offer, presented by Fran Garagarza, a month ago. A proposal quite similar to the one the previous sporting director, Domingo Catoira, had made him a year earlier. From the environment of the midfielder, they consider “insufficient” an offer that Melamed values with parameters below those they consider the footballer has.
“Right now, Melamed has no other idea in his head than to promote Espanyol to Primera”, assure ARA people close to the footballer, who make it clear that his future does not distract a footballer committed to Luis García’s team. “The reality is that he has a contract until June and that he will leave his skin for the club. He is going like crazy to win and bring Espanyol up to Primera. If the club wants him to continue, it will have to be for something else”, they admit from those around him.
Melamed is transforming the confidence Luis García has given him into performance. In the final stretch of last year, he put the team on his back, and this year, without Darder, he is taking on more responsibilities. He has two goals and two assists and has become the team’s most unbalanced player in attack.
Espanyol assures that the renewal of Melamed is “the highest sporting priority” of the club at the moment. The club is planning to send the player a new offer in the coming weeks. If he hasn’t done it yet, it’s largely because he can’t know for sure whether the team will return to Primera next year. A key aspect, since the category significantly conditions the club’s possibilities.
In the offices of the Stage Front Stadium they are working on a medium-term plan to refloat an entity badly hit by the last two relegations. Promotion is essential to have economic solidity. Being over the salary limit would force you to defer any salary increase in a long contract in order to be able to take it on. “The fact of being in Segona limits the financial tools, but we value Nico very much and we will do our utmost to renew it”, acknowledge Espanyol sources. The club is asking for time to address the renewal, as it needs more clarity to know in which category it will play next year and thus be able to specify how far it can go.
Espanyol appeals to the heart of the 21
The proposal of the Spanish organization, which asks for empathy from the youth of the youth group with the situation the club is experiencing, is not limited to money. “With 22 years and little time in the first team, he is already one of the captains, wears number 21 and is a key piece in Luis García’s style of play”, say club sources. Espanyol hopes to convince the footballer with intangibles that counter the economic and sporting potential of some renowned clubs. One of those interested in him is Sevilla, who last summer presented a formal offer that Espanyol rejected. Víctor Orta is one of the many sports directors attentive to his situation. Espanyol is appealing to sentiment to prevent it from becoming the umpteenth pearl of the squad that leaves for free to another First Division club, as happened with Pau López, Melendo and Pedrosa. A gem with a blue-and-white heart that the club cannot afford to let slip away for free. Now it remains to be seen whether he will be able to pay for his continuation.
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