Marked for Adrián Lapeña
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Deportivo La Coruña have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Deportivo La Coruña can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Another clean sheet for Leo Román
19 shut-outs and counting. Goalkeepers are only noticed when they fail, and Leo Román has given nobody the chance.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deportivo La Coruña close the window on a squad of their own making
1 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
The deal with Monterrey is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Yeremay runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match30 Jan 2027
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ceuta have kept their man, and Deportivo La Coruña go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marc Domènech, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.18
A mark of 8.18 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Ceuta
Lucas Villagra and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Ceuta training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Álex Petxarromán is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Carlos Hernández, and the manager let it.
Match19 Dec 2026
A goal on 94 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Ceuta, and it is a cruel one.
Match19 Dec 2026
Honours even between Ceuta and Granada
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Luken Prieto after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Dec 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match5 Dec 2026
4 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ceuta this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Ceuta
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Álex Petxarromán was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Luken Prieto after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Ceuta may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Ceuta
Guillermo Vallejo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Stefan Džodić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Luken Prieto was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Ceuta dressing room was either.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 13, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad23 Nov 2026
One booking too many, and Anuar sits out. Ceuta lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
Match21 Nov 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Cultural Leonesa came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Sep 2026
5 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Ceuta
Guillermo Vallejo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match26 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Ceuta
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Toni Abad
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Ceuta are still strangers to each other
17 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A defender's afternoon for Anuar
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market28 Sep 2026
No place for Kuki Zalazar in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Kuki Zalazar has his answer from Ceuta; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Ceuta training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gonzalo Almenara is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match16 Sep 2026
The cup run ends for Ceuta
0‑1 against Deportivo La Coruña, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Match19 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Ceuta
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Ceuta are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Ceuta
Guillermo Vallejo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Ceuta
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefan Džodić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market21 Sep 2026
Ceuta have made Guillermo Vallejo available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Luken Prieto after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Ceuta will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
Huesca come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Ceuta did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Adrián Lapeña and Ceuta agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Ceuta
Guillermo Vallejo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Adrián Lapeña
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Ibai Lorenzo joins the Ceuta first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ibai Lorenzo is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Antonio Cano joins the Ceuta first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Antonio Cano is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Gonzalo Vera has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Spezia: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Salvi Sánchez and Ceuta agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Ceuta
Guillermo Vallejo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Ceuta training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Álex Petxarromán is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ceuta, another week without a signature from Salvi Sánchez.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ceuta are still strangers to each other
10 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Adrián Lapeña asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
In brief
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Market
The clock runs on Anuar's contract
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Market
Yann Bodiger linked with a move away