After losing Victor Ruiz to Napoli in last winter's January transfer window, Espanyol's defense struggled. Barcelona's 'other' club have always been in the shadow of their cross-town rivals, but they were actually challenging for a Champions League place before losing Ruiz. Now, they have replaced him, and they have replaced him well. For a fee of $5.8 million, or slightly less than they solid Ruiz for, Espanyol have purchased Mexican central defender Hector Moreno from AZ Alkmaar.

Despite his odd gaffe against Guatemala this weekend, Moreno has been in great form for El Tri and he should continue to start for Mexico into the near future. This is a decent step up in his career, and I expect him to be starting every game from the beginning for Espanyol. This is a move that should help him get better as a player and it should only further solidify his place in El Tri's first XI.