Deportivo’s transfer window looked like a football thought experiment. A newly promoted club returning to La Liga after eight years signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Adama Traoré, Angeliño, José María Giménez and Marc Casadó, then registered all five in the same squad. Seven matches later, Deportivo are seventh, one point outside the top six, with two wins, four draws and one defeat.
The immediate explanation is Aubameyang. Once one of Arsenal’s defining attackers, the 37-year-old has five goals and two assists in seven league appearances. He has contributed directly to seven of Deportivo’s 10 goals, including one goal and two assists in the 3-2 comeback at Villarreal.
The rest of the famous group tells a different story. Giménez has started all four league matches since arriving and already looks settled in Antonio Hidalgo’s back line. Casadó had moved into the starting lineup before fracturing his right clavicle against Real Betis and undergoing surgery. Adama has made four substitute appearances. Angeliño’s only league start ended with a red card against Sevilla.
The five players have never shared the field together. The closest Deportivo came was against Sevilla, when Aubameyang, Giménez, Angeliño and Adama were on the pitch before Angeliño’s dismissal. Casadó remained on the bench. The lineup that made the transfer window look so unusual still hasn’t existed.
Deportivo’s position has instead been built by several layers of the squad. Leo Román has played every league minute in goal. Lorenzo Amatucci, Bright Ede and Jonathan Asp Jensen have already made multiple starts, while Mario Soriano, Diego Villares, Yeremay and other members of the promoted core remain important. The recognizable names were additions to a functioning team, not replacements for it.
Why Deportivo’s strange mix has held together
The structure was deliberate. Deportivo wanted younger players under long contracts and enough top-flight experience to stabilize a promoted squad. Casadó’s season-long loan follows a familiar route for the club. Federico Valverde’s season in A Coruña once gave another young midfielder a La Liga stage before he returned to Real Madrid. This time, Deportivo also secured Román, Amatucci, Ede and Asp Jensen through 2031.
Aubameyang has made the attacking plan immediately legible. Deportivo’s midfielders don’t need him to dominate possession or create every move. They need him to recognize space early, time his run and finish. The winner at Villarreal completed his best performance so far, but the two assists were just as revealing. He connected the existing team to the new one.
Giménez has supplied a similar bridge in defense. The 31-year-old went straight into the lineup and has started every league match available to him since the transfer. His role is less visible than Aubameyang’s, but it gives Hidalgo an experienced central defender behind a midfield that is still changing from week to week.
The risks haven’t disappeared. Deportivo’s attack remains heavily dependent on a 37-year-old who has either scored or assisted 70 percent of the club’s league goals. Casadó has no official return date following surgery. Adama has yet to start, and Angeliño has played only 59 league minutes. The depth is real, but several of the window’s most recognizable additions remain unresolved.
Seven matches can’t settle a survival campaign. They can, however, separate a collection of names from a squad with a workable shape. Deportivo have lost once and sit one point from the top six without ever fielding the five-player combination that made the roster go viral. The famous lineup may eventually appear. For now, Deportivo are succeeding because the team was built to work before it did.
