Villarreal CF Squad Depth 2026/27: Full Analysis

Villarreal enter 2026/27 with a new coach, another Champions League campaign and a squad containing considerably more quality than their early results suggest. Iñigo Pérez replaced Marcelino after Villarreal qualified for the Champions League for a second consecutive season.

The change on the touchline coincided with another evolution of the squad. Dani Parejo and Alfonso Pedraza left after important spells at the club, while Villarreal added experienced goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi and Canadian midfielder Nathan Saliba to a group that had already been strengthened heavily over the previous year.

Much of the existing core remains intact: Renato Veiga, Pau Navarro, Pape Gueye, Santi Comesaña, Alberto Moleiro, Nicolas Pépé, Gerard Moreno, Ayoze Pérez and Georges Mikautadze are all still available.

Villarreal therefore do not have a shortage of players. Their real challenge is finding the right combinations under a new coach while competing in both La Liga and the Champions League.

Villarreal’s 2026/27 Squad at a Glance

The main first-team options include:

Goalkeepers: Luiz Júnior, Péter Gulácsi, Rubén Gómez
Defenders: Logan Costa, Alex Freeman, Arouna Diatta, Pau Navarro, Juan Foyth, Renato Veiga, Santiago Mouriño, Carlos Romero, Sergi Cardona
Central midfield: Pape Gueye, Santi Comesaña, Nathan Saliba, Dani Macià
Attacking midfield and wide options: Alberto Moleiro, Nicolas Pépé, Tajon Buchanan, Ilias Akhomach
Forwards: Gerard Moreno, Georges Mikautadze, Ayoze Pérez, Tani Oluwaseyi

Several players can cover more than one role, which is particularly useful for Pérez because he has already adjusted both personnel and structure during the opening weeks.

Goalkeeper Is Deeper After Gulácsi’s Arrival

Luiz Júnior began the season as the first-choice goalkeeper. Péter Gulácsi’s arrival from RB Leipzig significantly raises the competition. The Hungarian brings more than a decade of high-level Bundesliga and European experience and has already started both in the Champions League and La Liga.

That gives Pérez a genuine selection decision rather than one obvious starter and an emergency reserve. Rubén Gómez provides another option behind them.

Villarreal therefore have more than enough goalkeeper depth for a three-competition season. The interesting question is which player eventually establishes himself as the long-term No. 1.

Centre-Backs Have Numbers and Different Profiles

Renato Veiga is one of the most important defenders. His left foot, size and ability in possession make him particularly useful for a team expected to build from the back. Pau Navarro has continued his development after an excellent breakthrough season and is receiving substantial responsibility.

Santiago Mouriño can operate centrally or at right-back, while Logan Costa is back in the first-team group following his long recovery from a serious knee injury. Alex Freeman and Arouna Diatta further increase the defensive options.

Juan Foyth remains unavailable, which removes one of Villarreal’s most experienced and tactically flexible defenders. Even without him, Pérez has enough natural defenders to rotate. The problem seen during the opening matches has been defensive consistency rather than an absence of personnel.

Villarreal have conceded repeatedly from situations where the collective structure broke down. That is something coaching and familiarity must solve. Adding another centre-back would not automatically correct it.

Full-Back Is Built Around Versatility

Carlos Romero and Sergi Cardona provide two natural options on the left. Romero offers attacking energy and has already received significant minutes, while Cardona brings greater continuity from last season.

On the right, Mouriño can operate as a full-back, while Freeman gives Pérez a quicker, more aggressive option. Foyth should increase the competition once available. Several Villarreal defenders can also change roles during a match.

Renato Veiga can move left. Mouriño can switch between centre-back and right-back. Freeman can play aggressively higher up the flank. That flexibility is valuable because Pérez does not need to maintain the same defensive structure against every opponent.

Midfield Is Going Through the Biggest Transition

The departure of Dani Parejo matters. For years, Villarreal could rely on him to control tempo, dictate buildup and decide when attacks needed to accelerate. There is no direct replacement. Instead, Pérez has a younger and more athletic midfield.

Pape Gueye provides physicality, ball recovery and the ability to carry possession forward. Santi Comesaña offers intelligent movement, pressing and reliability between both penalty areas.

Nathan Saliba adds another dynamic midfielder capable of breaking lines through passing or forward runs. Dani Macià provides younger depth. The group has plenty of energy.

What it lacks compared with the Parejo era is one obvious deep controller around whom every possession phase revolves. That may not be a weakness if Pérez wants Villarreal to play faster. It does mean the midfield identity is changing.

Nathan Saliba Adds Something Different

Saliba is an important signing because he does not simply duplicate Gueye or Comesaña. He is comfortable receiving deeper but also likes carrying possession beyond opponents and making forward runs. That gives Villarreal another way to progress through midfield.

His arrival should also help manage Champions League rotation. Pérez can use Gueye and Comesaña for experience, introduce Saliba when he wants more verticality, or combine all three depending on the opponent.

The midfield may be smaller numerically than the attacking group, but the main options are complementary. That is more useful than simply having six similar players competing for two positions.

Alberto Moleiro Carries More Creative Responsibility

Moleiro has become increasingly important. He can start wide, drift inside or operate between the lines, giving Villarreal a player capable of connecting midfield with the forwards.

With Parejo gone and the central midfield becoming more physical, Moleiro’s ability to create from advanced positions matters even more. Gerard can also drop into similar spaces. Pépé can create from the right.

Ayoze is comfortable combining between midfield and attack. The creative burden is therefore distributed, but Moleiro is one of the players Pérez can least afford to lose for a prolonged period because few midfielders in the squad reproduce his profile directly.

Wide Attack Is a Major Strength

Villarreal have several proven wide attackers. Nicolas Pépé has started the season strongly and scored in both the draw at Racing and the defeat against Deportivo. His ability to carry the ball, shoot from distance, and attack centrally from the right gives Villarreal a consistent threat.

Tajon Buchanan provides greater straight-line speed and can attack the outside of the full-back. Ilias Akhomach gives Pérez another technically gifted wide player capable of playing on either side.

Moleiro and Ayoze can also start from wide areas. This gives Villarreal genuine attacking rotation. Resting one winger does not mean the team loses all its pace or one-versus-one ability. That becomes particularly important during Champions League weeks.

Centre-Forward Is Exceptionally Well Covered

Georges Mikautadze gives Villarreal a natural No. 9 with movement, technical quality and penalty-box instincts. Gerard Moreno remains enormously important because he offers more than finishing.

He can drop between the lines, combine with midfielders, operate alongside another striker or move toward the right. Ayoze can also play centrally. Tani Oluwaseyi provides another physical and direct alternative.

That gives Pérez several different attacking combinations. He can pair Gerard and Mikautadze. He can use Ayoze around another striker. Oluwaseyi can offer greater running power when Villarreal want to attack space.

This is one of the deepest departments in the squad. The question is not whether Villarreal have enough forwards. It is finding a settled partnership that converts the volume of attacking talent into consistent results.

Gerard Moreno Still Offers Something Unique

Villarreal have plenty of forwards, but Gerard remains difficult to replace tactically. His goal against Real Betis was another example. He understands when to leave the centre-forward line, how to combine around the penalty area and where to arrive when attacks develop from wide positions.

Mikautadze may provide more natural penalty-box movement. Pépé provides more one-versus-one threat. Ayoze offers intelligent movement. But Gerard combines several of those qualities in one player. His fitness therefore remains important even in a deep attacking squad.

Champions League Football Makes This Depth Necessary

Villarreal are competing in Europe’s top club competition for the second consecutive season. They opened with a 3-2 defeat at Borussia Dortmund and still have league-phase fixtures including Napoli, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and other demanding opposition.

That schedule changes the way their squad should be evaluated. A club playing only La Liga might consider this attacking group excessive. For Villarreal, it is useful. Pérez needs to rotate forwards without completely sacrificing quality.

The centre-back and full-back numbers should also help during periods containing three matches in a week. Midfield is the area where workload management requires slightly more care because the group of natural senior central midfielders is smaller than the forward department.

The Opening Results Are a Warning About Cohesion, Not Depth

Villarreal have started poorly. They drew 2-2 with Racing Santander and Atlético Madrid before losing to Alavés, Deportivo La Coruña and Real Betis. Their Champions League opener also ended in defeat at Dortmund. Those results cannot be ignored.

But they should not automatically be interpreted as evidence that the squad lacks quality. Pérez is implementing his ideas after Marcelino’s departure; several roles have changed, and some established players are no longer central to the structure that worked last season.

The current problems are more about balance, defensive organisation and turning possession into controlled performances. The squad gives Pérez enough alternatives to search for solutions. That is what depth is supposed to provide.

Where the Real Drop-Off Exists

Villarreal are extremely well protected in attack. The goalkeeper now has genuine competition. Central defence contains numerous options. The most interesting vulnerability is central midfield.

Gueye, Comesaña and Saliba are strong options, but losing two simultaneously would leave considerably less proven senior depth than Villarreal have elsewhere. Foyth’s continued absence also matters because his versatility would normally give Pérez another defensive solution.

Beyond that, Villarreal’s main dependencies are based on quality rather than squad construction. Gerard remains difficult to replicate. Moleiro provides a creative profile few others offer from midfield. Renato Veiga has become particularly important to progression from defence. Those are normal dependencies even within a deep squad.

Overall Squad Depth Assessment

Overall Assessment: Strong Champions League-Level Depth, Particularly in Attack

Villarreal have enough quality and numbers to compete across several competitions. The goalkeeper has improved through Gulácsi. The defence contains multiple combinations and several versatile players.

The attacking group is particularly impressive, with Pépé, Buchanan, Akhomach, Gerard, Mikautadze, Ayoze and Oluwaseyi giving Pérez numerous ways to construct his frontline.

Central midfield has quality but less numerical insurance. The biggest concern at present is therefore not the squad itself. It is whether Villarreal can establish the collective organisation required to make those options work together.

Conclusion

Villarreal CF’s 2026/27 squad is deeper than their early-season results indicate. Péter Gulácsi gives Iñigo Pérez genuine goalkeeper competition, while Nathan Saliba adds youth, athleticism and progression to a midfield adjusting to life without Dani Parejo.

Defensively, Renato Veiga, Pau Navarro, Mouriño, Logan Costa, Freeman and the other options give Pérez enough players to manage a Champions League schedule. Attack is the clear strength.

Gerard Moreno, Georges Mikautadze, Ayoze Pérez, Nicolas Pépé, Tajon Buchanan, Ilias Akhomach and Tani Oluwaseyi give Villarreal one of the more varied attacking groups outside La Liga’s biggest clubs. The issue now is cohesion.

Villarreal do not need more attacking numbers. They need the midfield and defensive structure to settle under Pérez so that the depth already available becomes an advantage rather than a collection of individual options.

If that happens, this is a squad capable of handling both Champions League football and a demanding La Liga campaign far better than the opening results suggest.