On 18 June, Villarreal announced the signings of Malaga’s Samu Castillejo and Samuel Garcia. Outside90’s Dave Blackmore takes a closer look at the careers of the two new ‘Sams’.
Following the sales of Giovanni Dos Santos, Lucianno Vietto, Ikechukwu Uche and the loan return of Real Madrid’s Denis Cheryshev, Villarreal are desperate to bolster their forward line. In support of Gerard Moreno, and new loan signing Leo Baptistao, will be two ‘Sams’ from Malaga.
Looking to continue the great job done by Cheryshev will be Samu Castillejo. The 20-year-old right winger will have a tough task on his hands to emulate his Russian counterpart. Cheryshev supplied nine assists and scored four goals for the Yellow Submarine last season and is now looking at breaking into the Madrid first XI.
In contrast, Castillejo scored just once in his 34 outings for Malaga last season but provided five assists. That record made him Malaga’s leading man for assists but he will need to improve that record to be seen in the same light as Cheryshev.
Castillejo comes to Villarreal following eight years with Malaga. A graduate of the youth system, Castillejo made his senior debut with the reserve team in 2011. Seventy-five appearances in the Tercera Division, scoring 22 goals over three seasons, convinced first team manager Javi Garcia to bring him into the first team for the 2014-15 season. His performances last season persuaded Villarreal to give him a five-year deal.
Castillejo has also been called up for the Spanish U16, U17 and U21 teams, amassing a total of 17 appearances with two goals scored. He received his first call-up to the U21 team in the most recent round of friendlies, where La Rojita defeated Norway 2-0 and Belarus 4-0.
Twenty-five-year old Samuel Garcia, commonly known as Samuel, has also signed a five-year deal with the Yellow Submarine, keeping him at El Madrigal until 2020. Samuel, who can play as a forward or a winger, made 32 appearances for Malaga last season, scoring five goals and supplying one assist. Unlike Castillejo, this was Samuel’s second season with the first team, an improvement on his first in which he played 27 times, scoring four goals.
Samuel also played for three seasons with the Malaga B team prior to his call-up. In his 92 appearances, he scored 21 goals.
His youth career saw him playing in teams around the Andalusian area but was signed by Premier League heavyweights Chelsea when he was 14. A short spell in Southwest London saw him only stay with the Blues for three months with homesickness meaning he never properly settled.
His career took him through several Tercera Division clubs before settling back in his home town with Malaga B.
Castillejo played in both La Liga matches against Villarreal last season, with Samuel playing only in the first. Those matches must have left a lasting impression on Marcelino Garcia Toral with him splashing out a reported €16 million transfer fee for the pair.
Both players will now be looking at the Villarreal first team as they look to impress at a club that finished five places higher in the table than their former.
In the club’s recent Emirates Cup clashes against Wolfsburg and Olymipique Lyonais, Castillejo has started both matches with Samuel out of action already with injury. The club has begun preseason well with a 2-1 win over the Bundesliga runners-up and a 2-0 win over the French side.
Castillejo was involved in the second goal for Villarreal against Lyon – he played the ball to Gerard Moreno, whose lovely reverse pass was put in the net by Baptistao. Expect to see a lot chances created and finished by those three throughout the season.
With two friendlies remaining in England against Derby County and Everton, we should see the pieces falling into place for the starting XI going into the La Liga season. With Samuel’s unfortunate injury it could be tough to break that XI but all signs point to Castillejo lining up on the right side of midfield when Villarreal kick off their season away at Real Betis.
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