Why Olympiacos' Bruno Onyemaechi Could Be a Good Fit for Real Betis
· Yahoo Sports
LaLiga side Real Betis already has Fran Garcia and Junior Firpo at left-back. However, Bruno Onyeamaeci's name is on their January transfer list. That's where the story gets interesting.
The Nigerian is not a one-role left-back. At 27 and 1.84m tall, he can also play wing-back and has been used higher up the flank. He is a different profile from a short, attacking full-back like Fran Garcia.
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Betis has Firpo and Garcia, but adding a third player who can cover multiple positions could provide more options throughout the season. However, there is no official proposal yet.
Olympiacos paid around 2.5 million euros to acquire Onyemaeci from Boavista in January 2025. His contract runs until 2028, so Piraeus is under no pressure to sell him.
A Spanish offer in January should make financial sense now. Onyemaeci is old enough to offer Olympiacos both a competitive solution and resale value.
This summer, the Greek giants signed left-back Nair Tiknizyan, and apparently he's the main option for head coach Imanol Alguacil. Actually, during those months, a possible departure for Bruno was widely discussed, but in the end he stayed. Let's see what happens in the coming months.
Meanwhile, head coach Alguacil has other matters to worry about, as he needs to manage the striker position ahead of the next two games.
Armando 'Hormiga' Gonzalez will return late from his duties in Mexico, and Imanol Alguacil already has reason to work more intensively with Marius Mouandilmadji. The Chadian forward doesn't need to find fitness. He needs to quickly learn what the Spaniard wants in terms of movement, pressure, and transitions.
The Panathinaikos derby arrives on October 11th, and Marius has an advantage that grows every day: he is training at Renti without Gonzalez. The road to the derby lineup is open, especially if the Mexican returns tired and with minimal regular training.
The two-pure-forward option doesn't hold much promise. Alguacil has shown he prefers one up top and more players around him, especially in big games where he needs better balance and control.
Four days later, however, Olympiacos plays in Marseille. There, Mouandilmadji cannot play because he is not on the League Phase list. Imanol will again need either Roman Yaremchuk or Armando Gonzalez, both of whom are registered in Europe.
This creates a strange but useful management. Marius can take the big Greek game, while Yaremchuk and Gonzalez must stay competitively ready for the Velodrome at the same time.