Inside Espanyol!

Tonight Espanyol will travel to Argentina to face River Plate in a tough Division 4 fixture. Earle has named his starting 11 and it seems Miroslav Klose will make his first start in nearly a month. The German veteran hasn't scored under Earles reign and suffered a slight injury in the 2-1 win against Torino on March 13th. Following this he was unable to regain his spot in the squad with Borini and Pavoletti becoming the regular starters. Klose is also ready to end his time in Spain with a move to Chievo Verona agreed. Earle is in negotiations as to when the German will depart but it could be as late as the end of the season.  Earle has opted to put Pavoletti on the bench after just one goal in six games. Borini, on the other hand, has been in top form with 6 goals in his 11 games since signing from Lazio. The central midfield duo of Rosicky and Redmond have also hit strong form with 6 goals between them since Earle joined.

In transfer news Alvaro Arbeloa has become the joint most expensive signing for Earle costing £4 million. The 33 year old joined from Everton to help strengthen the still incomplete defence. Eloy Room has also been brought in as back up keeper for £2.4 million from Vitesse. However, with Mariano Andujar on the transfer list, Room could be called upon sooner than expected. Younes Kaboul is also set to make an exit after a training ground bust up. Earle is looking to bring in Ragnar Klavan from Boca Juniors to fill in the space for a fee of £4 million. Earle is also hoping to sign 3 more unknown players when they are better situated financially.
Since joining Earle has helped the Spaniards pick up 19 points in 11 games. With 5 wins, 4 draws and only 2 losses, survival is a real possibility now. Espanyol are now just 6 points off safety and with big games around them the squad will have to jump at their opportunity to rise. With 12 games left, Earle believes that if the teams current form continues they may creep out of the drop zone. He has also said that if worst comes to worst and the team is relegated he has no desire to leave the club unless they release him or a top offer comes along. "If we go down I'll still be here, unless I'm let go or get an offer I can't turn down, which is unlikely! But if I'm still here it's a great opportunity for us to try new styles and possibly start some more developmental projects. No matter what happens, I'm excited for this clubs future! Whether it's in Division 4 or 5, or maybe even 3, I'm excited. I just hope I'm here to experience it!"