Who Should Espanyol Sign to Replace Marash Kumbulla?

Marash Kumbulla has had an excellent season at Espanyol, being crucial to their survival in the first division, redeeming himself after Roma paid a hefty fee for his signing. However, next year he will not be in Espanyol’s squad as his loan lasts just one year. In this article, we will be looking at potential replacements for Marash Kumbulla at Espanyol.

With the use of Scouting Stats AI and the McLachApp, both websites formed by football data enthusiasts on Twitter by the names of @ChicagoDmitry and @DEvansData on X, I have been able to find 3 potential replacements for Marash Kumbulla at Espanyol. Espanyol do not have the finances to pay a hefty amount, so they will either be looking at free transfers, loan deals, or a low fee to sign a center back.

Name: Javier Castro

Position: Center Back/Right Back

Country: Spain

Age: 24

Height: 183cm

Preferred Foot: Right

Current Club: Racing

Context: Javier Castro joined Alcorcón’s youth system from Rayo Vallecano at a young age, and after just one year in the first team, he was loaned out to Celta’s B team. The next two seasons, he would play in Alcorcón’s first team until Racing signed the center back last summer, where he has played this season.

Radar charts of Javier Castro and Marash Kumbulla. (Mclachapp, 2025).

In this chart, we can observe that Javier Castro puts up similar numbers, if not higher than those of Kumbulla, though it is important to note that Castro plays in La Liga 2. Nonetheless, apart from having high values in clearances and blocks like Kumbulla, which shows he is a good defender in the box, he also wins many headers, though his success rate is not as high. However, this is probably due to his high volume of aerial duels, given that he wins so many. 

In addition, he is very aggressive, ranking very highly for PAdj tackles, and his percentage of dribblers tackled shows that he is a good 1v1 defender and can cover for the full back if he is caught out of position. Furthermore, he has good passing numbers with a relatively high number for progressive passes and precision, showing he is also comfortable with the ball.

Heatmaps of Marash Kumbulla and Javier Castro. (Sofascore, 2025).

Here, we can see that Kumbulla and Javier Castro have similar heatmaps, with both players spending a lot of time defending the box. Furthermore, we can see that Castro has played in both the right and left center back positions, though mostly left, whereas Kumbulla tends to play on the right. Nonetheless, this difference is not very important given that Castro can play on both sides.

Overall, Javier Castro can be a good option as although he does not have experience at the elite level, he comes from a good season with Racing. Moreover, his contract ends in 2026, which means that he will be available at a cheap price, and at 24 years old, he still has a few years before he reaches his peak.

Name: Leo Greiml

Position: Center Back

Country: Austria

Age: 23

Height: 187cm

Preferred Foot: Right

Current Club: NAC Breda

Context: Greiml passed through the academies of Horn and St. Pölten before arriving at Rapid Vienna’s B team. At Rapid Vienna, he played for three years in the first team before leaving on a free transfer to join Schalke 04 in 2022, where he stayed for two seasons, and last summer, NAC Breda signed the young center back for an undisclosed fee.

Radar chart of Leo Greiml and Marash Kumbulla. (FBref, 2025).

Thanks to this chart, we can observe that Greiml is a very similar profile to Kumbulla, with both of them having the same strengths, ranking highly for blocks, shots blocked, clearances, as well as tackles. Furthermore, Greiml has defended better in 1vs1 situations; however, it is important to note this is in the Eredivisie. Also, he is great in the air, winning many aerial duels, and overall is a great defender in the box, just like Kumbulla.

Heatmaps of Leo Greiml and Marash Kumbulla. (Sofascore, 2025).

Here, we can observe that Greiml has spent a lot of time in the box, which shows he is adept at defending the box, as mentioned previously. Nonetheless, we can also see he drops a lot to the wing to cover for his full-back, which shows he reads the game well, and as seen previously, he is pretty good in 1vs1 situations. 

Overall, Greiml would be an excellent replacement for Kumbulla; however, we would have to see how he adapts to the Spanish League. Nonetheless, he shares the same characteristics as Kumbulla and is just 23 years old, which means he still has space to grow. The only issue is that he renewed his contract until 2027 a few months ago, and with a market value of 2 million, the club may charge a relatively large fee for him, which Espanyol may not be ready to invest.

Name: Jimmy Dunne

Position: Center Back/Right Back

Country: Ireland

Age: 27

Height: 191cm

Preferred Foot: Right

Current Club: QPR

Context: Dunne began in Man United’s youth system before moving to Burnley’s U23s, where, after just one season went on a series of loan spells to Barrow, Accrington, Heart of Midlothian, Sunderland, and Fleetwood. After these loans, he spent 6 months in Burnley’s U23s before joining the first team, where he played for one season until QPR signed him on a free, where he has been playing for the past 4 seasons.

Radar chart of Jimmy Dunne and Marash Kumbulla. (FBref, 2025).

This chart shows us that Dunne is excellent in the air and also great in 1vs1 situations, ranking highly in both these aspects. However, it is true that he does not defend the box as much as Kumbulla, with a low number of shots blocked, blocks, and clearances. Though we can see that he is an aggressive defender with high values for tackles.

We can find here the explanation for Dunne’s low number of shots blocked and clearances, given that he has been used as a full back rather than a center back. Though he is still present in the box when defending. Nonetheless, seeing his numbers playing as a full back, I am sure that if he played as a center back, those numbers in clearances and shots blocked would multiply.

Overall, Dunne is a gamble given that he has played as a full back this season; nonetheless, seeing his characteristics, we can see that he was originally a center back with his height and ability in the air. If he can be moved to play as a center back, he could give great performances, and given that he ends his contract this summer, he would be available on a free transfer.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that Javier Castro is the safest option given that he plays in Spain and won’t have trouble adapting to Espanyol, plus his fee would be lower as his contract ends next year. However, Greiml seems like a very good option as well, though his club may demand more money, and Dunne is a gamble, though I believe that he could be an excellent signing if he can change position.

By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga1

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / NurPhoto