Kevin Sánchez swaps the wing for the centre as Deportivo’s new No. 9

Kevin Sánchez is reverting to the centre to “reinvent” a No. 9 role for Deportivo after the nearly simultaneous setbacks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Zakaria Eddahchouri, with the Blanquiazul frontline also losing Bil Nsongo, already capped by Cameroon. Sport reports the Burgos forward is volunteering to move out of the wide areas and focus on mobility and timing in the box.

The shape being tested is a 4-2-3-1 with a single forward. In the Penafiel match, the experiment paid off quickly, with two goals coming from that approach. This campaign he had not yet scored for Fabril, but last year at Cartagena he netted two times across 36 games, totaling 2,462 minutes.

Until the main options are back, Sánchez is set to spend the next few weeks more regularly with the first-team training routine. Manuel Pablo and the staff are assessing whether to include him for Fabril’s Real Unión fixture this afternoon, weighing both the need for goals and the injury risk.