Championship excellent place to discover talent - Espanyol's Monchi

Espanyol's sporting director, Monchi, believes English football's Championship offers promising talent for Spanish clubs. The former goalkeeper, who recently returned to his native Spain after two years as Aston Villa's president of football operations, highlights the Championship as one of the less understood competitions in football. Monchi, who also worked with Sevilla and Roma, praises the Championship for its high level of competitiveness, excellent coaches, and intense demands.

Espanyol, a 119-year-old club founded in 1900, sees the Championship as a valuable source of talent, particularly given Spain's financial constraints. Monchi's connection to the English game is strengthened by his ownership group's stake in Burnley, a Championship club. He cites Morgan Rogers as an example of a successful Championship graduate, who has since moved to Chelsea after joining Espanyol from Blackburn Rovers.

Despite the financial disparities between Spanish and English clubs, Monchi emphasizes the need for intelligent recruitment strategies to compensate for the spending disadvantage. He believes Spanish clubs must be imaginative and work hard to identify alternative markets for recruitment. Monchi's own experience at Aston Villa, which he admired for its clear separation between business and sporting sides, has influenced his approach to club management.

Monchi acknowledges the huge gap between Spanish and English clubs in terms of financial resources, but insists that Espanyol should not measure their progress against Barcelona. Instead, they should focus on improving on their own past performance and gradually climbing the ranks of La Liga. His ambition is to return Espanyol to its former glory as one of Spain's most important clubs.