Monchi says the Championship is one of football's least understood competitions, and he is using that view to frame Espanyol's recruitment work. Returned to Spain after two years as president of football operations at Aston Villa, he has moved into a role where value matters as much as profile. His pitch is simple enough: if Spanish clubs cannot buy in the richest markets, they need to identify players they can afford and improve.
The Championship case
Speaking to the BBC about talent identification, Monchi said: "I think it is a competition with an extremely high level of competitiveness, very good coaches and intense demands. It is an excellent place to discover talent."
He also pointed to Morgan Rogers as an example of a player who came through the Championship and later reached England international status. That kind of pathway is exactly why he sees the division as a market worth attention, not a place to dismiss. Monchi added: "I cannot avoid keeping an eye on the UK."
The idea already fits Espanyol's recent business. Tyrhys Dolan joined from Burnley in July 2025 after five seasons in the Championship, which gives the club a concrete link to the market Monchi is backing.
Espanyol's recruitment reset
Monchi's own England spell also shaped how he works. He said his time at Aston Villa showed him a clear distinction between the business side and the sporting side of a club, and that recruitment now leans on data, artificial intelligence and broader analysis as well as scouting reports.
That matters for Espanyol because they are trying to build from a mid-table base rather than chase anything grander. They finished 11th in La Liga last season, scored 43 league goals and conceded 55. Monchi's message is not about matching richer rivals in one leap, it is about finding players who fit the club's budget and raising the level step by step.
He also used Espanyol's own history as the standard. The club were founded in 1900, and Monchi said they should look back at what they have been and try to become that version of Espanyol again, the one that once counted among Spain's important clubs.
The recruitment angle is the more interesting part of this interview. Monchi is not talking about a fashionable league for the sake of it. He is talking about a competition he believes is badly read, a club that needs value, and a scouting model that now blends traditional observation with data. Espanyol will keep looking in the UK, and the Championship is clearly part of that map.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
