Deportivo La Coruña are shaping their squad at both ends of the experience scale this week, closing in on a senior wide option for Antonio Hidalgo's attack while also locking down a promising left-back from Real Madrid's academy with an eye on the years ahead.
The headline pursuit is Adama Traoré. Hidalgo's side have tabled a proposal for the free agent winger and are waiting on his response, with the move having entered what the club considers decisive days.
Traoré's physical power and ability to unbalance defences in open play would give Hidalgo a different profile to anything currently in his squad, and the Galician side hope to have him in first-team training within hours of an agreement being reached.
A central defender remains the more pressing need in sporting director Fernando Soriano's eyes, with Depor's options at the back thin following the expected departure of Barcia, but the club has explored names including Juan Jesús, Zezé and Llorente without yet closing a deal.
Should Traoré arrive, he would be reunited with a familiar face in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The pair were unveiled by Barcelona on the same day in February 2022, when Traoré's loan return from Wolverhampton Wanderers coincided with the Gabonese striker's free transfer from Arsenal, and the two shared a dressing room in Catalonia before their paths diverged.
While the Traoré deal remains unresolved, Deportivo have already tied up the arrival of Manu Serrano, who is set to leave Real Madrid Castilla for A Coruña in a permanent transfer that opens the door to an exciting project.
The 22-year-old left-back will start out with Deportivo's reserve side, Fabril, but his multi-year contract includes a clause providing for promotion to the first team as soon as next season.
Born in Pinto in 2004, Serrano joined Real Madrid's academy in 2018 as a 14-year-old arrival from Getafe. He worked his way through La Fábrica to establish himself at Real Madrid Castilla, lifting the Copa de Campeones youth trophy along the way and becoming one of the club's most trusted academy full-backs.
His standout moment came in May, when he fulfilled the dream of every academy graduate by making his first-team debut in a competitive match, coming on in the 84th minute of a win over Athletic Club at the Bernabéu. The substitution carried extra weight: Serrano replaced club captain Dani Carvajal in what proved to be the defender's final appearance in a Real Madrid shirt, a moment he described as one that will stay with him forever.
At Deportivo, Serrano will look for a level of continuity that had become difficult to find at a crowded Real Madrid, joining a historic club newly returned to Spain's top flight.
His departure continues a pattern of academy exits Madrid have sanctioned this summer, deals that generate income for the club while guaranteeing their young players the game time they need away from the shadow of the first team.